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R v Puriri

R v Puriri

Case [2025] NZHC 3143 15 October 2025

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WHANGAREI REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA WHANGĀREI-TERENGA-PARĀOA ROHE

CRI-2025-088-000684

[2025] NZHC 3143

THE KING

v

AITUA KINO PURIRI

Hearing: 15 October 2025

Appearances:

R Annandale for the Crown

A Fairley and S Pilkington for the Defendant

Sentence:

15 October 2025

SENTENCING NOTES OF ROBINSON J

Solicitors:
Crown Solicitor, Whangārei Thomson Wilson, Whangārei

R v PURIRI [2025] NZHC 3143 [15 October 2025]

Introduction

[1] Mr Puriri, you come before me today for sentencing having pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter of your three old nephew, Reign Puriri by omitting without legal excuse to take reasonable steps to protect him from injury when you were driving your ute.1 Reign’s father is your brother.

[2] This is a tragic case. I start by acknowledging Reign. He was a special boy. He is much loved and he will be greatly missed. I acknowledge his parents. And I acknowledge the pain and suffering that Mr Puriri’s offending has caused you and your whānau. I have read all of the victim impact statements and we have heard three of them read here today. Reign’s mum read hers. So did his great grandmother and his aunty on behalf of the family. Everyone here today, we are all mums and dads, sons and daughters, uncles and aunties and it is impossible not to be greatly moved by all of those victim impact statements. Sadly though, there is nothing I can do or say today that will take away your pain, your grief, or your anger. I extend the Court’s deepest sympathies and I wish all of you the very best on your recovery.

[3] Mr Puriri, my job this afternoon is to sentence you in accordance with the law, and on the basis of relevant facts that are not in dispute. On 12 June 2025 the Court gave you a sentence indication.2 You did not accept that indication because on advice you considered there were relevant factual matters still to be resolved. But you accepted responsibility for your offending, and you pleaded guilty. Since then, the facts have been clarified. And it is important that I set out those relevant facts because they are the basis on which I sentence you today. I acknowledge of course that many of these facts are only too well known to all of you but in the course of sentencing Mr Puriri it is important that I record them, including for others who are not necessarily in the courtroom today.

1 Crimes Act 1961, s 171 and 177; maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
2 R v Puriri [2025] NZHC 1568 (Sentence Indication).

The offending

[4] On Sunday 23 February 2025 at around 1:30 pm you were driving your Holden ute. It did not have a current warrant of fitness. It was not registered. You held a full New Zealand driver’s licence at the time.

[5] You drove your ute from your home address to a family property which is approximately 160 m…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Puriri

Details

AGLC: R v Puriri [2025] NZHC 3143
Case: [2025] NZHC 3143
Decision Date: 15 October 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The High Court of New Zealand, Whangarei Registry, heard the case of The King v Aitua Kino Puriri, a sentencing proceeding for Puriri’s manslaughter of his three-year-old nephew, Reign Puriri. Puriri, who drove his nephew unrestrained in a vehicle, resulting in the child’s death, pleaded guilty. The court considered various legal issues, including the appropriate starting point for sentencing, the impact of Puriri’s guilty plea, his expression of remorse, and his family circumstances. The court determined a starting point of three years and six months imprisonment, acknowledging Puriri’s prior convictions but finding his culpability less severe than in similar cases where the drivers were affected by drugs or alcohol. The court applied reductions for Puriri’s guilty plea, genuine remorse, and his offer of reparation, resulting in a sentence of 12 months home detention. This decision also included a three-year disqualification from holding a driver’s licence and a reparation order to be split equally between Reign’s parents.

In delivering the sentence, Justice Robinson highlighted the tragic nature of the case and the profound impact on the victims and their families. The court considered the purposes of sentencing, including denunciation, accountability, and deterrence, alongside Puriri’s personal circumstances and the interests of his children. The final sentence, which balances public safety with the needs of Puriri’s family, reflects a comprehensive approach to sentencing in a case of unintentional serious harm.

Orders