A boy charged with the killing of Liberty Templeman has been found guilty of murder.
The 16-year-old, who admitted assaulting Miss Templeman in Kerikeri in 2008, was convicted in the High Court in Whangarei on Friday after a two-week trial.
The bruised, semi-naked body of Miss Templeman was found face-down in a stream in an abandoned orchard on 1 November 2008, a day after the 15-year-old disappeared.
The Crown said the boy had admitted to police that he hit, choked and dragged Miss Templeman to the stream and that the jury should find him guilty.
The defence denied the murder charge, claiming the boy had not intended to kill his former classmate, and had sought a manslaughter verdict.
The jury of six men and six women retired at 3.30pm on Thursday and returned a majority 11-1 verdict just after 6pm on Friday and a unanimous verdict on a charge of indecent assault.
Miss Templeman's family and friends wept quietly and her mother stared hard at the boy as he stood in the dock and was convicted of murder.
The tall, well-built youth showed little expression throughout the trial but appeared downcast at the end.
Justice Asher remanded him in the custody of the youth justice system to appear for sentencing on 26 March and ordered the lifting of name suppression at noon on Saturday, giving his family time to prepare for the publicity.
The judge said the trial had been a great ordeal for everyone involved and thanked members of the public for behaving with dignity throughout.
The jury returned to the court three times on Friday to clarify the text of a video transcript of a police interview in which the boy admitted hitting, strangling and hiding Miss Templeman's body in a stream. Jurors watched the video five times.
Justice Asher urged the jury to reach a verdict, telling jurors he would accept a majority verdict if unanimity was not possible.
Police say the guilty verdict vindicates their efforts in a difficult case. Inspector Marty Ruth says it was one of the saddest he has worked on, but now the Templeman family has at least had some justice.
