A man has pleaded guilty to murdering Zion Gutnik at an Auckland brothel last year.
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In March 2020, Gutnik was found dead at a brothel in Epsom and Jiann-Hwa Maa was arrested weeks later.
Maa appeared in the High Court at Auckland this morning before Justice Gault, where he pleaded guilty through a Mandarin interpreter.
His lawyer Kelly-Ann Stoikoff said the murder was not intentional, despite the guilty plea.
Meanwhile, Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey said the Crown would assert Maa did mean to kill Gutnik.
Justice Gault convicted Maa and gave the man his first strike under the three strikes law.
Maa was remanded in custody ahead of a disputed facts hearing on 10 June.
He will be sentenced on 3 August.