The former owner of a Blenheim bar has admitted the manslaughter of a patron at his second trial, after a change in the charge meant he did not assault his victim.
Matthew Heagney, 24, died from head injuries when he hit the footpath after being removed from Shapeshifters bar in Blenheim in 2009.
In 2010, a jury found Kevin King, 52, guilty of manslaughter and he was sentenced to 12 months' home detention.
However, King successfully appealed the conviction, saying it was unfair for the crown to have combined a choke-hold allegation with the dropping allegation to form one charge.
His retrial began on Monday, but in the High Court at Wellington on Wednesday he pleaded guilty to a new manslaughter charge, which pertained to how King released Mr Heagney once he was outside the bar, Fairfax reports.
It was accepted that King was lawfully entitled to remove Mr Heagney and did not commit criminal assault when he ejected him.
King will be sentenced next month.
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