The mother of an Auckland man shot dead by his friend with a pig-hunting rifle does not believe in justice following a jury's not guilty verdict this week.
Alan Gundry shot Gene Atkins at Mr Gundry's home in Orewa, north of Auckland, on January 12. Mr Atkins, 28, was looking for his partner, Sarah Jane Dean, with whom he had been fighting earlier that night.
Mr Atkins had been drinking heavily and the High Court at Auckland was told five people saw his aggression at a dinner party that evening which had gone badly wrong.
Mr Gundry, 30, pleaded not guilty to murder, saying the shots were fired in self-defence.
A jury found Mr Gundry not guilty of murder and manslaughter this week.
But Mr Atkins' mother, Libby Tebbs, has condemned his acquittal.
"There is no justice," she told the Herald on Sunday.
"The verdict was based on emotion and not fact -- how could anyone shoot someone twice and get away with it?"
Ms Tebbs said she was still grieving for her son.
"I am gutted," she said.
"I have lived and breathed this for nine months, and I will do for the rest of my life."
Ms Tebbs' husband, Ross, said she had suffered nightmares, and none of the family had received support, as victims.
Mr Atkins' girlfriend, Ms Dean, would never forgive Mr Gundry, he added.
"She doesn't want to talk to him or know him ever. We feel the same way," he told the newspaper.
Mr Tebbs accepted his stepson and Ms Dean had previously had "a few blows", after which she would threaten to leave, and he also acknowledged that Mr Atkins had used cannabis.
However, Mr Atkins had looked to Alan Gundry as a mentor who was good at calming him down when he felt out of sorts.
"That night, we acknowledge he was out of line," Mr Tebbs told the newspaper.
"But Alan Gundry shot and killed him and walked out of court a free man."
NZPA