25 Mar 2010

Charges upgraded in balcony fall case

1:42 pm on 25 March 2010

Two men have been charged with manslaughter, accused of causing the death of a man who fell from a balcony in Auckland.

Paul Stewart Kingi, 57, fell from the balcony of a flat in Point England earlier this month. He died in hospital.

Assault charges against two men, aged 64 and 37, were upgraded to manslaughter, at the Auckland District Court on Friday.

The two men, who are related, have been granted bail until they appear again on 15 April.

A post mortem showed Mr Kingi's death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

Detective Sergeant Graeme Timms says Mr Kingi was assaulted, which lead to him going over the balcony.