A man convicted for murdering his ex-girlfriend and her young daughter and hiding the bodies under a bridge in Auckland is appealing his life sentence.
Kamal Reddy appearing via video-link in Court of Appeal. Photo: RNZ / Jonathan Mitchell
Kamal Reddy killed Pakeeza Yusuf in late 2006 by strangling her with the cord of an iron, and used a pillow to kill her daughter Jojo.
Their bodies were only discovered under a bridge on the North Shore in 2014, after Reddy confessed to undercover officers during a "Mr Big" police investigation.
Reddy was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 21 years in 2016.
He is appealing that conviction and has appeared by video-link from prison at the Court of Appeal in Wellington today.
His lawyer, Paul Dacre QC, has started his submissions by outlining details of the Mr Big operation and the confession.
He acknowledged Reddy knew where the bodies were and gave a lot of detail to undercover police - but he was not the killer.
Reddy has always maintained his innocence, and claimed he was sorry for his role in helping the real killer get rid of the bodies.
At the trial, Reddy claimed the confessions were false and to cover for Ms Yusuf's new boyfriend.