A father who fatally shot his two-year-old Auckland toddler with a sawn-off shot gun has been found guilty of manslaughter.
The toddler was shot at close-range with the firearm at a south Auckland address in June 2016. She had been living on Favona Rd with Sanft, her mother and three siblings.
After a two-week trial in the Auckland High Court, a jury has unanimously found Sanft guilty.
Sanft’s family members shouted out "love you" as he was taken from the dock.
His defence team today reiterated to a jury the death of Amokura Daniels-Sanft was accidental.
Crown prosecutor Katie Hogan said Amokura's death was a result of a number of failures on Sanft's behalf, including failing to check if the weapon was loaded, and if its safety catch was on.
But during closing arguments on Friday morning the defence said the shotgun fired "accidentally" and that Sanft never aimed, pulled the trigger or knew the firearm was loaded.
Defence lawyer Phil Hamlin told the court that his client believed the firearm was broken, and that the crown cannot exclude the possibility of it exploding in his client's hand.
"If there was any negligence on his behalf that didn't cause the death. The shot went off in a completely accidental way.
"He has always accepted that he killed her, but it wasn't his fault."
It was proven throughout the trial that the shotgun could sometimes fire when its hammer was flicked, even if the trigger was not pulled.
"That could have happened," said Mr Hamlin.
"No one knew of the danger of that gun on the second of June."
Sanft will be sentenced on September 7.
Newshub.
