Rouxle Le Roux's lawyer says her client inadvertently breached her home detention conditions for a simple reason - she "didn't hear the knocking" on her door.
Le Roux, 19, was sentenced to 11 months' home detention and 250 hours of community service for killing teenager Nathan Kraatskow at an Albany intersection in May. Le Roux, a learner driver, had consumed wine and cannabis earlier that day.
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As part of Le Roux's sentencing she was required to be available if authorities came to her home. But it's alleged that on February 20 she failed to respond when probation officers arrived twice.
She's been charged with failing to comply with the conditions of her sentence and will appear in court again.
However lawyer Belinda Sellars QC told Newshub that Le Roux didn't hear the knocking due to nearby construction work.
"Rouxle and her mother were both at home," she told Newshub. "There was a lot of building noise."
Corrections says if offenders don't follow the conditions of their sentence they will "treat it very seriously".
Serious breaches can result in additional convictions, or the cancellation of home detention and imprisonment.
However Ms Sellars says it's most likely Le Roux will be given a warning due to it being a "minor" breach. She says Le Roux was due to appear in court anyway as part of her monitoring.
Le Roux has previously expressed remorse for her actions, telling NZME she felt terrible for Nathan's family.
"I am going to do my best to not have his name go down in vain," she said in December.
"I want to prove to them I am remorseful and I take this seriously and this will never happen again."
Newshub.
