Funds frustration prompts death threats

"Oh, whatever," a man said when police questioned him about a threatening voicemail message he left someone.

Carlos John Michael Gore called the Public Trust on February 5 and left a voice message, identifying himself by his name and address, police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Butler said.

Gore named the victim and verbally abused him in the message, calling him a "stupid a**hole" and saying "I want to kill you".

He accused the victim of embezzlement and theft.

He continued saying he would kill the victim.

Mr Butler said police spoke to Gore after he left the message, and "in explanation he said 'Oh, whatever.'"

He pleaded guilty in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday to misuse of a telephone.

Defence lawyer Raukawa Simon said the Trust was a welfare guardian for Gore, and he had had difficulty accessing his funds.

She said Gore now had a new manager and things were "working out much better for him and his personal circumstances".

Judge Philip Crayton gave Gore an order to come up for sentence if called upon within six months.