A murder trial has been set down for next year over the death of prisoner Benton Marni Parata.
The Rangiora man, 44, suffered critical injuries at Christchurch Men's Prison in March and died after spending several days on life support at Christchurch Hospital.
Three men - Levi Hohepa Reuben, 20, Steven Betham, 36, and Akuhatua Tihi, 22 – were charged with his murder.
The accused appeared in the High Court at Christchurch this morning, where lawyers scheduled a trial date of May 9. The trial has been set down for three weeks.
All three were remanded in custody.
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