A video the 16-year-old murderer of Kerikeri teenager Liberty "Libby" Templeman posted on the internet has attracted dozens of furious comments.
Hermanus Theodorus Kriel, known as Theo, was last week convicted of murdering bubbly, 15-year-old Libby when he was 14.
Yesterday, the judge in the case clarified a suppression order
allowing the press to publish his picture.
One response to the YouTube video said: "Knock him out then leave him face down in some water."
Another said: "You say that Theo was bullied at school. Well he ain't seen nothing yet ... wait till he gets to jail."
The responses to the posts also included tributes to Libby.
Libby's father, Andy Templeman, 49, yesterday told a British newspaper that Kriel should be in an adult prison rather than a secure youth detention facility.
"Apart from lack of freedom to walk down the street, there has been no repercussions to his actions for the last year and a bit," Mr Templeman said.
"I want him to go to adult prison, and sooner rather than later. The thought of him having not quite the life of Riley but having it fairly easy is absolutely abhorrent.
"However, I don't want to join those campaigning groups and have Liberty made into a celebrity campaign."
Asked about his thoughts on the boy himself, Mr Templeman said: "I don't really have the head space to think about him.
"There is too much going on to really start thinking about him and his family.
"I've been watching him and his family throughout the trial, just to see if there's any emotion over this from any of them, and there's just no emotion at all."
Mr Templeman said Kriel's family had made no apology to him so far.
Looking ahead to next month's sentencing, he could say only that nothing would make up for the loss of his daughter.
"Whatever the sentence, for murder it's only something like a minimum 10 years," he said.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't bring Liberty back. Whatever it is, it will never be enough."
Kriel's family refused to comment when they were contacted at their Kerikeri home.
Inspector Marty Ruth, who was in charge of the investigation, said that there were no winners.
"For the Templemans, it's been a long, hard road."
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NORTHERN ADVOCATE
