4 Mar 2009

Nia Glassie killer to appeal conviction

4:06 pm on 4 March 2009

One of the men found guilty of murdering Nia Glassie has filed an appeal against his conviction.

Wiremu Curtis was sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua on 4 February to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17-and-a-half years for the murder of the three-year-old girl in August 2007.

Lawyer Craig Horsley has confirmed that an appeal against conviction has been filed on behalf of Curtis.

No date has been set for a hearing.

Meanwhile, Panama Le'au'anae, the lawyer for the child's mother, Lisa Kuka, says there is a distinct possibility that an appeal will also be filed on her behalf.

Kuka was jailed for nine years after being found guilty of two charges of manslaughter arising from failure to seek medical attention and failure to protect a child from violence.