This article was first published on NZ Herald.
A former police detective whose son was killed by a coward punch says the real problem is not just sentencing but how fatal violence is investigated by police.
TeUraura Nganeko believes the underlying system architecture and Sentencing Act framework shape and often limit the outcome long before a case reaches court.
But Assistant Police Commissioner Corrie Parnell says cases are investigated thoroughly and then charged on merit.
“Police conducted a thorough investigation and are satisfied with its outcome,” Parnell told the Herald.
Daniel Nganeko died on July 29, 2025, three days after he was punched by Daytona Thompson – who then filmed his victim on the ground – outside a Taranaki rugby club.
Thompson pleaded guilty to manslaughter last August and was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.
He was initially charged with assault, but the charge was upgraded to manslaughter.
However, Daniel’s father believed his son’s killer should have been charged with murder.
TeUraura Nganeko says he believes that what happened in his son’s case reflects a deeper structural issue.
In reflecting on where justice is served, Nganeko told the Herald: “It is largely determined by police. Not the judges, not the courts, not Corrections.
“Police control the investigation. They decide what evidence is gathered, what is pursued, and what is left out. They shape the entire evidential record that everyone else must then work from.
“In Daniel’s case, it was treated early as an unfortunate event between two young men, which is BS.
“The first detective sergeant I spoke to said he felt sorry for both young men, both whānau, as if this was just a mistake, an unfortunate accident.
“And from that point, the investigation followed that narrative.”
But Parnell disagrees.
“Police conduct extensive investigations to ensure all possible lines of inquiry are investigated, no matter the incident,” the assistant commissioner said.
“This is to ensure there is enough evidence for potential court proceedings, and for the courts to make an informed decision for sentencing.
“The Crown Solicitor will then, in a case like this, make the decision on appropriate charges based on the available evidence provided by police.
“As per the Solicitor General’s prosecution guidelines, any prosecution is required to meet an evidential sufficiency test.
“In this case, police laid a manslaughter charge after consulting with the Crown Solicitor.
“We understand incidents like this have life-changing effects to victims’ families, and our thoughts are with them as they go through this difficult time.”
Coward-punch crimes were back in the news last month when Parliament’s justice select committee heard submissions as MPs consider legislative changes to the Crimes Amendment Bill.
The bill includes three new offences for coward-punch crimes for head/neck strikes and proving intent.
Nganeko – who said he carried out his own investigation into the tragedy – believes that early framing of his son’s investigation dictated everything that followed; including upgrading the charge to manslaughter, but not murder.
“My investigation shows the offender had to be pushed away from Daniel earlier that night. He [Daniel] was targeted, pursued, and deliberately attacked,” Ngakeno claimed.
“If you minimise seriousness at the investigation stage, you limit what can be proven later.
“That affects the charge. It affects what the Crown can run. It affects what a judge can sentence.”
We talk about judges being too soft, or sentences being too low. But judges can only sentence on the facts put before them
— TeUraura Nganeko
“That is how outcomes are shaped upstream, with the police.”
He says the public’s focus on sentencing alone misses the real driver of outcomes.
“We talk about judges being too soft, or sentences being too low. But judges can only sentence on the facts put before them.
“And those facts are created by the police.”
Nganeko presented written and oral submissions to the justice select committee considering changes to coward-punch laws.
He also had concerns about how much information police gave to coronial inquiries.
“That process depends on police providing the full file.”
For Nganeko, the issue is not about individual officers, but system design.
“I am not criticising individuals,” he said.
“I am explaining how the system operates in practice. System design influences operational outcomes.
“We saw it with police, then the Crown, then the courts.
“The Parole Board will be next.”
As a former detective, he says, he understands exactly how the system works.
“As a father, I live with what that system delivered.
“The father in me feels the loss of my boy. The detective in me understands how it happened.
“And that is why I will keep pushing for change.”
Daniel Nganeko is one of 15 people the Sensible Sentencing Trust says have been killed by coward punches over the past 15 years.
Others include:
October 2024 Luke Smith
Siale Siale pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the death of South African Luke Smith in the early hours of October 2024 and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
Siale coward-punched Smith outside Wellington’s old Reading Cinema building. Smith fell backwards, hitting his head on the road. Siale kicked Smith in the groin, swore at him and filmed him on his phone as he lay unconscious and bleeding on the pavement.
Siale spent nine months in prison.
April 2023 Mewa Singh
Jayden Kahi was sentenced to two years in prison after coward-punching tourist Mewa Singh in Linwood Park, Christchurch, in 2023.
Kahi wrongly believed Singh was trying to kidnap his son. On appeal, his sentence was reduced to 11 months of home detention.
May 2021 Fau Vake
Daniel Havili was jailed for two years, nine months for the manslaughter of popular Auckland kickboxer Fau Vake in May 2021.
Vake hit his head on the concrete after Havili hit him with a coward punch, causing a brain bleed that led to Vake’s death nine days later. Havili was released after 11 months in prison.
December 2021 Levi Haami
Armani Williams was jailed for three years after fatally punching 18-year-old Levi Haami in a supermarket carpark on Moorhouse Ave in Christchurch on December 4, 2021.
Williams was 16 when he killed Haami.
February 2020 Phillip Goffe
Unasa punched 60-year-old Goffe, who fell backwards on to a concrete driveway, hitting his head. He was taken to hospital and put on life support, but died five days later from his injuries.
September 2020 Umukisia Fiva
Tongan national Peniteketo Uhatafe killed his partner, Umukisia Fiva, with a single slap to the head at a party in Manurewa.
Fiva, 34, died in September 2020. Uhatafe admitted a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to five months’ home detention.
December 2020 Bruce Coker
Cruz Mason Murray, 27, was jailed for three years and seven months for the manslaughter of Bruce Coker at Tawa on December 20, 2020.
Murray met Coker in the street and coward punched him on the right side of his face, causing Coker to fall backwards on to the road.
Murray spent 15 months in prison.
October 2019 Hashim Saad
Joe Maka pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Hashim Saad after attacking him in Māngere on October 19, 2019.
Maka was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison and spent 15 months incarcerated.
April 2019 Jerico Telea
Joseph Larson pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Jerico Telea, who was left in a critical condition after a serious assault near the intersection of Queen St and Vulcan Lane during the early hours of April 20, 2019. Telea, 24, died in hospital two days later.
Larson was sentenced to one year of home detention.
April 2016 Matthew Coley
Tyrone Palmer was 16 when he admitted the manslaughter of Matthew Coley after coward-punching him outside an Invercargill Night‘n Day store on April 9, 2016.
Palmer was sentenced to 22 months in jail and was released after serving 11 months.
November 2013 Tarun Asthana
Former Navy sailor Grenville David McFarland was jailed for two years and four months for the manslaughter of Tarun Asthana, who was coward-punched and struck his head on the pavement outside a central Auckland McDonald’s in the early hours of November 2, 2012.
McFarland spent nine months in prison.
October 2011 Billy Dawson
Kit John Murray was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for five years after he coward-punched Billy Dawson, 34, outside Auckland’s Spy Bar at the Viaduct during the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Murray appealed against the sentence, saying it was too harsh and the assault had not involved “extreme violence”, but his appeal was turned down and he spent 20 months in prison.
August 2011 Felipe Sipaia
Jonathan Ioata was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for the manslaughter of Felipe Sipaia, a 24-year-old father of three.
Sipaia died in Wellington Hospital in August 2011 after the assault.
Ioata spent 19 months in prison, and Sipaia’s wife forgave Ioata for killing her husband.
March 2011 Steve Radnoty
Matthew Bryce Larson, 23, walked into a Dunedin fast food outlet and punched Steve Radnoty, 51.
He was jailed for three years for manslaughter and spent 12 months behind bars.
