The coward-punch killer of a much-loved Taranaki man filmed his victim and taunted him while he lay dying on the ground.
Daytona Thompson, 22, was jailed for four years and two months for the manslaughter of Daniel Nganeko, 37, when he appeared for sentencing in the High Court at New Plymouth on Tuesday.
Daniel Nganeko, a videographer, died after being hit on the chin in an unprovoked attack outside a New Plymouth rugby club in July.
Knocked out cold, he fell and hit his head on the kerb, fracturing his skull.
His life support was turned off three days later at Auckland City Hospital.
Fighting back tears, Nganeko's father Te Uraura Nganeko read a lengthy victim impact statement to a courtroom filled with supporters wearing white t-shirts bearing the victim's image, with whānau of his killer also in the room.
Outside court about 100 more Nganeko family supporters waited for the sentence.
Te Uraura Nganeko spoke about his horror that Thompson, who drank a half a bottle of spirits before attending the Tukapa Rugby Club prizegiving, had made a "trophy video" of his son rather than getting help for him.
"Daniel never got the chance to describe what happened to him that night, but we did witness his external injuries. We saw the MRI scans of his fractured skull and swollen brain. We saw Daytona Thompson's trophy video of Daniel while he lay dying on the footpath with his eyes wide open.
"We heard him say 'Come round here, come round here, n*****. I'm no killer'. We then heard him say to a bystander 'I just knocked him the fuck out'."
Turning to Thompson in the dock – where a photo of his victim had been placed facing him – Te Uraura Nganeko told his son's killer that in his world utu was about returning balance and mana.
"What would you do if your daughter or your brother was killed and the killer stood over them videoing and saying, 'come around here. Come around here, n*****. I'm not a killer.' What would you do now?"
Te Uraura Nganeko expressed his frustration that Thompson had received a discharge without conviction for previous violent offending that had left him free to reoffend, and which could not be considered during sentencing for the attack on his son.
He told the court about the traumatic scene that awaited him when he arrived at the Tukapa Rugby Club, and how he sat in the cab of an ambulance as paramedics tried to save his son's life.
He also spoke about the awful decision three days later to turn off his life support.
"It was then that it suddenly dawned on me that I would never hear Daniel take his last breath. He had actually taken that last breath on his own before they had to intubate him in the back of the ambulance outside the Tukapa Rugby Club.
"I wanted to hear his last breath, it's a spiritual thing. For me, it's a moment of beauty, because I would know his wairua was leaving him, that his spirit was finally free, and he was going to be with his grandparents, my mum and dad and Christine's father, and all his tīpuna who were waiting for him."
Te Uraura Nganeko told the court he said karakia before Nganeko's friends and family sang Over the Rainbow for him.
In her victim impact statement Nganeko's mother Christine also rounded on Thompson.
"This is what I feel about Daytona Thompson. You are a thug. You are a coward and you are a killer. You mocked our son as he lay dying. You filmed Daniel's last breathes as you turned it into a trophy.
"We loved Daniel more than life itself and you took that away from us. You have left us with a life sentence of grief and we will never ever forgive you."
She hoped Thompson would forever be remembered by his hapū and iwi as the "coward puncher".
Nganeko's twin brother Cameron had to be restrained as he directed his victim impact statement directly towards Thompson.
"Can you feel that tingling in your fingers and your toes ... that's reality. I've seen that video."
A court clerk then took over reading his statement before he broke in.
"How would you feel if a sucker puncher punched your brother then stood over him with a phone and video him as a trophy? How would you feel? Well that's how I feel. When you're in jail, bro, you sit with that and think about it."
Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke sought at starting point of between nine and 10 years' jail, arguing the attack being to Nganeko's head was an aggravating feature of Thompson's offending as was his filming of his victim, the impact on his family and the fact he was a recidivist offender.
"Mr Thompson showed no concern whatsoever for Daniel as he lay dying, and that is a significant aggravating factor.
"The Crown submission essentially is, sir, that we do not need to wait for that legislative change that Parliament has indicated, because we can do it on the current sentencing principles."
Defence council Julian Hannam argued for five years' jail as a starting point.
He pointed to Thompson's early guilty plea, his relative youth and the fact he had a young daughter as considerations.
Hannam said Thompson had also written a letter conveying his remorse.
"Sir, in his own words, 'I will never forgive myself for what I have done, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to be better than the person I was that night. I'm so very sorry.' Those are his words, sir. And, obviously, I'm not endeavouring to read the entire letter, but simply to draw from it that the heart of it."
Hannam said Thompson also had the support of his family many of who were in court.
Justice Paul Radich thanked the public gallery for remaining calm during a difficult time for all of them.
He starting point was a seven-year jail term citing the considerable force Thompson used in the assault, the fact there was no provocation, and the fact he had videoed his victim as aggravating factors.
"I have viewed the video that you took of Mr Nganeko unconscious on the ground, you taunt him and appear utterly unmoved by your actions.
"The act of making the video record itself was particularly cruel and callous. Your astounding choice to do so was a further indignity on Daniel.
"The only purpose for which I can reasonably apprehend you would make such a video was to glorify your offending."
Justice Radich gave Thompson a 25% discount for his early guilty plea, his relative youth and background before sentencing him to four years, two months' jail and issuing him with a first strike warning.
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