Graham Cedric Mokaraka, a man who scaled a 1.8m glass barrier in a Napier courthouse to attack a family member’s murderer, has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month.
Mokaraka was one of four men who scaled the barrier separating the courtroom from the public gallery to attack Taua in the dock last September.
The other two, teenage twins Trizarn and Cylus Henare, were the sons of Napier woman Arohaina Henare, who was stabbed to death by Taua in 2022.
Mokaraka and the 18-year-old twins did not expect to see Taua in the dock when they arrived at court with about 30 other relatives and supporters on 11 September last year.
They thought Taua would appear via audiovisual link and became angry when they saw him in person in court. Mokaraka quickly jumped the barrier, followed by the twins and the fourth man.
In the melee, a Corrections officer suffered a knee injury and was left helpless on the ground. Taua was later convicted of Henare’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
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