Teen gets 3 years' jail

A Rotorua teenager stabbed and killed his friend who was trying to stop him killing himself, the High Court at Rotorua has heard.
The 16-year-old, who has interim name suppression, was sentenced to three years' jail in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday after previously pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 16-year-old Tongarewa Thomas in Rotorua on August 20 last year.
Justice Christian Whata said the teenager, who was 15 at the time, Tongarewa and the teenager's girlfriend had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis on August 20.
The teenager said it was the most alcohol he had ever drunk. He had gotten the alcohol from his mother. The trio were at the teenager's Clinkard Ave property where he had an argument with his girlfriend, after which he indicated he wanted to kill himself.
The teenager got a knife and Tongarewa tried to stop him. There was an altercation between the pair and the teenager stabbed Tongarewa in the groin.
Tongarewa went outside, slumped over and died on the porch.
Justice Whata said the teenager was distraught and made the comment that Tongarewa was his friend and if he was dead, he was going to kill himself. Police arrived and took him into custody.
The teenager said Tongarewa was his "bro" and they grew up doing everything together.
In a victim impact statement, Tongarewa's mother said she was no longer whole and her soul had been broken.
"I look for him and glimpse for him ... I wait for him to come home."
The teenager had been through the restorative justice scheme with members of Tongarewa's family and Tongarewa's mother said she wanted mercy to be given to her son's killer.
"He feels my pain and cries my tears and aches as I do ... He is not a bad boy. He has just had a bad life with bad role models," Tongarewa's mother said in her victim impact statement.
Tongarewa's father said in his victim impact statement that he was in deep pain and could not forgive the teenager.
He said he dreamt of his son but then he would wake up and he was not there, which was like a nightmare.
He said he would break down and everything reminded him of "my beautiful son".
He said he had been drinking a lot to stop the pain.
Family members of Tongarewa sobbed in the gallery of the High Court and the teenager cried in the dock yesterday as Justice Whata spoke of what happened and read out parts of the statements.
The teenager's lawyer, Andy Schulze, said he wouldn't describe what happened as an accident but said the events of August 20 were "unforeseen, unpremeditated and had unintended consequences".
Rotorua Crown Solicitor Fletcher Pilditch said the starting point was seven to eight years' jail.
Justice Whata said the starting point was six years' jail and there were significant mitigating factors including the teenager's age, his remorse, early guilty plea and the lack of proper parental guidance.
"You were afforded the wrong guidance," Justice Whata said, before reducing the jail term to three years.
Mr Schulze said the teenager had initially appeared on the charge in the Rotorua Youth Court, where his name was automatically suppressed.
Mr Schulze asked that the teenager's name be permanently suppressed given his age and his prospects of rehabilitation.
Justice Whata has granted interim name suppression until tomorrow to give Mr Schulze time to make further submissions.