The family of a man beaten by teenagers and left to die on the side of a road has told the Auckland High Court they live in fear.
Joel Lo,19, and John Adams,17, at the Auckland High Court. Photo: RNZ
Tamati Tupe was repeatedly punched and kicked, while being dragged to a number of different locations in South Auckland in 2012.
The 23-year-old was left on a roadside. Someone placed a box on his head, and a wheelie bin was used to try to hide his body.
On Friday, his teenaged killers were given life sentences for murder at the Auckland High Court.
John Adams, 17, must serve a minimum of 14 years in jail. He was aged 15 at the time of the attack. Joel Lo, 19, must serve a minimum of 12 years.
Justice John Fogarty said the beating was brutal, cruel and highly callous.
Mareta Marsters, a cousin of Mr Tupe's, told the court she fears for her daughter who lives in same the area as the killers' families, and worries that other people involved in the attack are still free.
"That scares me. I'm scared for my family. How could you do that to my cousin? Now we have to live and move on carrying this pain, because both of you boys have taken away someone special."
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