Connor Whitehead's father James Whitehead. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
"He was my baby boy."
The heartbreaking words of a father, addressing those responsible for his son's death directly.
The two men found guilty of manslaughter following the death of Christchurch teenager Connor Whitehead were sentenced in the High Court on Friday.
Daniel Nelson Sparks and Joshua David Craig Smith were jailed for six years, three months and seven years respectively after they were found guilty of manslaughter.
The pair stood trial earlier this year, charged with murder.
Sixteen-year-old Connor was fatally shot outside a party in the suburb of Casebrook on 5 November 2021.
Family members described how his death had shattered their world during emotional victim impact statements.
Connor's father James Whitehead spoke of how the tragedy had "in many ways" ruined his life.
"It's the future Connor I think about so often, about who he was going to become.
"What kind of man he would've been, whether he would have a family of his own one day, how he would've interacted with his siblings as adults and how their children would play together as cousins.
Connor Whitehead. Photo: Give a Little
"These thoughts make my heart hurt."
Whitehead described to court how he is constantly reminded by his son and questioned "what he'd done to deserve this".
"Did karma send these monsters for some past misdeed?
"The ones who killed Connor not only physically took him away but have taken the warmth out of my life.
"He was my baby boy."
During the trial, the Crown spoke of how Sparks and Smith armed themselves with loaded firearms to scatter a late-night crowd at Heaphy Place.
A heated argument had developed outside with gang signs and yelling before the men arrived armed with a Mossberg pump-action shotgun and sawn-off Stevens shotgun.
Connor Whitehead was standing in the driveway with friends.
His father's heartache shifted to anger when addressing the men directly.
"I want you to know you have left a giant hole in my heart, like the 214 holes that Connor had in his chest after he was shot.
"I still fail to understand why anyone living in New Zealand would want to take loaded guns to a party, let alone a child's party, let alone their own child's party."
Earlier, the court heard from Connor's aunt Angela Whitehead who helped raise him when he was a baby while he lived with her and her two children.
"When Connor was learning to talk and he would mimic my children, my kids calling me 'mum', and we had to correct him to call me 'aunty'.
"But I still felt like a mother to him, during those early years especially.
"I'm so proud to be a part of his upbringing."
She told Sparks how she pitied him and no longer feared him or his associates.
Her attitude towards Smith was more compassionate.
"We saw your tears and apparent remorse in court during the trial.
"I watched you every day for three weeks and I do believe you feel bad for killing Connor.
"But you had the ability to change your plea."
Smith wept in the dock as victim impact statements were read to the court.
Statements from Connor's stepmother Laura Hay, older sister Cordelia Whitehead and mother Cheryl Whitehead were also read, alongside a recorded statement from Connor's younger sister Emma.
Cordelia sobbed through her statement, describing seeing photos of Connor's body during the trial and how she would not be able to share key family milestones with her little brother.
"The pain that these two men caused him is something I don't think they could ever imagine."
Justice Melanie Harland acknowledged the family as she began her sentencing remarks.
"The death of a young person is hard enough, however the death of a young person who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and who was killed in such a violent way is extremely distressing."
Family members spoke about how the actions of the gunmen's accomplices added to their trauma and their punishment "taken seriously".
Kelly Archbold, Nicholas McKay, and a 37-year-old woman, who was granted interim name suppression, pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact.
Justice Harland sentenced Archbold to four months community detention and supervision and McKay to six months community detention and 100 hours community work.
The woman, whose identity remains suppressed for another fortnight, was sentenced to 100 hours community work.
