The two people convicted over the violent death of a former east Auckland school pupil can finally be named.
Former Botany Downs Secondary College pupil Connor Boyd, 18, was injured in Auckland CBD in the early hours of April 24, 2022.
Police said at the time the incident happened near the intersection of Customs Street East and Commerce Street and involved a vehicle and a pedestrian.
The vehicle involved left the scene but was later located by police. Boyd, who was the pedestrian, suffered critical injuries.
He was taken to Auckland City Hospital but tragically died there three days later.
Following the incident, police announced a man and a woman, both aged 18, had been charged with manslaughter in connection with Boyd’s death.
The woman was also charged with three counts of assault. The man who was charged had been driving the vehicle involved at the time while she was sitting in the right rear passenger seat.
The two teenagers were granted name suppression when they first appeared in court.
Their name suppression has now been lifted and they can be identified as William Grace and Kaiya Shute.
Shute pleaded guilty to a charge of assault with intent to injure. She subsequently pleaded guilty to two further charges of assault with intent to injure and three charges of common assault.
At trial a jury found her guilty of manslaughter by assault.
Grace pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault and was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter by dangerous driving and of failing to stop to ascertain injury.
On the manslaughter charge Justice Ian Gault sentenced Grace to two and a half years’ imprisonment.
He was also sentenced to serve three months in prison for assault, six months for failing to stop, and was disqualified from driving for two years from the date of his eventual release.
Shute was sentenced to serve two years and two months in prison for Boyd’s manslaughter.
She was also sentenced to serve nine months’ imprisonment for the assault with intent to injure and three months in prison for assault.
One of the assault charges Shute faced resulted from an incident that happened on April 21, 2022, at a bar in Auckland CBD.
At about 2am she called a woman names, poured a drink over her head, grabbed her drink and poured that over her head also and then threw multiple punches at her body and kicked her leg.
Several days later Grace and Shute and a group of their friends returned to the bar.
Shute saw the same woman who she’d previously assaulted, approached her from behind, grabbed her hair and dragged to her to the ground before running away.
That resulted in the second assault with intent to injure charge she faced.
A short time later, Boyd and a friend were talking outside the bar.
“You approached them and joined the conversation, which began to get heated,” Justice Gault said to Grace during his sentencing of the pair.
“You then punched Mr Boyd once in the face, which caused him to stumble backwards.”
By this time Shute and two of her friends were sitting in Grace’s vehicle.
One of them saw Grace punch Boyd. Shute got out of the vehicle and walked toward them, Justice Gault said.
“You [Shute] became visibly aggressive towards Mr Boyd. You pushed him with two hands forcefully in the chest and neck area, causing him to fall backwards into a planter box.
“This was common assault. As Mr Boyd was sitting in the planter box, you lifted your right leg and front kicked him in the chest.
“This was another assault with intent to injure. As Mr Boyd attempted to get out of the planter box, you slapped him across the face with your right open palm.
“Mr Boyd got up from the planter box and attempted to walk backwards away from you. You followed him until security intervened.”
A short time later, Grace was driving his vehicle with Shute in the back seat behind him.
At about 2.35am, Boyd was standing in the street talking to a group of people in a vehicle.
Grace stopped his vehicle as they turned a corner and Boyd walked over to them. Words were exchanged between Grace, Shute and Boyd.
Shute reached out of the vehicle’s window and struck Boyd in the head with her right hand.
Boyd said something to Grace, who responded by leaning out of the driver’s window, grabbing Boyd by the shirt and driving off while holding onto him.
Boyd stumbled and turned and ran alongside the vehicle. Shute reached out of the vehicle and grabbed onto Boyd from behind.
Grace and Shute held onto Boyd as Grace drove along Gore Street. The vehicle turned sharply and Boyd jumped onto its running board while holding onto the exterior.
As the vehicle approached the next intersection, Boyd lost his footing and fell off the running board.
“As he fell, the back right wheel of the vehicle ran over Mr Boyd’s head and body,” Justice Gault said.
“The fall and bump caused Mr Boyd to spin around and land close to the middle of the road.
“You both felt a bump. Mr Grace, you continued driving without stopping to check on Mr Boyd, who was lying in the road.
“You drove back to your flat. Ms Shute called 111 approximately seven minutes after Mr Boyd fell.
“Members of the public rushed to Mr Boyd and called an ambulance. Tragically, Mr Boyd died three days later as a result of his unsurvivable injuries.”
During the sentencing of Grace and Shute, victim impact statements from Boyd’s father and sisters were read to the court.
Justice Gault also read a victim impact statement from Boyd’s mother.
“Mr Boyd’s father spoke of the infinite and indescribable pain he feels at having lost his son, only 18 years old, and the devastating impact of Connor’s death and the impact that has had on his family,” the judge told the court.
“He feels lost without cause and continues to struggle with the knowledge of how Connor died.
“Mr Boyd’s mother described her immense love for her son, and the lifetime of pain, suffering and hurt she faces since his loss.
“Her mental health has suffered significantly. She spoke of the profound loss her family has experienced, and how deeply she misses Connor.
“Mr Boyd’s sister, Ashton, also spoke of the severe grief and trauma she lives with.
“She recalls the ordeal while Connor was in hospital, the pain of seeing him in the funeral home.
“She described how she struggles to accept his death. She also expressed how deeply she loved and misses her brother.
“Connor’s sister, Tyler, describes the heartbreak of losing her brother, which never gets easier.
“She constantly wonders why he was the victim of this crime and cannot get used to his absence.”
Justice Gault thanked Boyd’s family members for their courage and for giving him more insight into Boyd, “and for sharing the continued impact of his loss”.
“I acknowledge your immeasurable grief. I know that whatever sentences I impose today can in no way undo the harm done.
“I hope you too, Mr Grace and Ms Shute, also appreciate the profound and long-lasting pain you have caused by your offending.”
Following Boyd’s death, an online fundraising page created to help pay for his funeral costs and other expenses raised more than $23,000 from 271 donors.
