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Two men previously accused of murdering Codi Wilkinson now face manslaughter charge, while ringleaders have kidnapping charges dropped.

They were also found guilty of participating in an organised criminal group and wounding Wilkinson's friend Kyle Rowe​ with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The jury also found Moananui guilty of kidnapping Wilkinson and Rowe by taking them from Ashhurst to Wilkinson the night they were attacked. But the jury were hung on all charges against Dean Arthur Jennings​ and Jason David Signal​, as well as the kidnapping charges against the Su’a brothers. Majority verdicts were required for all the guilty verdicts. Justice Helen Cull​ ordered a retrial on the hung charges. Murray ...

Wilkinson and Rowe were allegedly assaulted in Ashhurst in September 2019 before being taken to Bunnythorpe, where Wilkinson’s body was found about two weeks later. The Crown says the defendants attacked the duo with weapons while kicking them out of the Mongrel Mob, taking them to Bunnythorpe to present them to a drug dealer they robbed. The number of defendants and charges mean the jury has to come up with at least 25 different verdicts. That number would get even longer if they find defendants not guilty of murder, as they then would have to consider if defendants were guilty or not ...

Lithgow, representing Jennings, told the jury the Crown’s case was “a bit of a jigsaw”. “It is the jigsaw you would buy at a charity shop. You know what it is meant to look like, but a lot of bits are missing.” SUPPLIED Codi Wilkinson’s body was found in Bunnythorpe in September 2019. While all the other defendants deny they were involved in any attack on Wilkinson and Rowe or in kicking them out of the Mongrel Mob, Lithgow said the pair were being kicked out of the gang. There was nothing illegal about that, but Jennings did not know it would end with extreme violence carried...

They were attacked in Ashhurst and taken to Bunnythorpe, where the dealer lived and where Wilkinson was found dead two weeks after going missing. The trial in the High Court at Palmerston North is nearly over, with lawyers for Signal and Mariota Su’a giving closing addresses on Thursday. Signal’s lawyer, Charl Hirschfeld,​ said the Crown had painted Signal as the right-hand man of Mongrel Mob president Jeremiah Su'a. It was not denied that the pair were working on a business venture utilising Signal’s mechanic skills, but a gang expert told the trial it was normal for gang member...