The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by one of two men convicted of murdering Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie in 2007.
Wiremu Curtis and his brother Michael Curtis and two others, including the three-year-old's mother, were found guilty on various offences relating to the girl's death.
Wiremu Curtis, who was 17 at the time, was the partner of the girl's mother Lisa Kuka.
Curtis was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 17-and-a-half years.
He appealed on the grounds of a miscarriage of justice, claiming that the trial judge failed to properly instruct the jury.
The Court of Appeal says it is confident the judge fully and properly identified all essential issues for the jury.
Kuka also appealed against her conviction and sentence. The court will release its judgment at a later date.
