18 years for killing marijuana farmer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 12 (UPI) -- A young man convicted of killing his employer in a marijuana business has been sentenced to at least 18 years in a New Zealand prison.

Justice Forrie Miller said at a sentencing hearing Friday that Daniel Moore planned the killing of Tony Stanlake because he wanted Stanlake's money and a marijuana crop worth $30,000, The Dominion Post reported. Stanlake's throat was cut after he was knocked unconscious with a mallet in 2006.

Moore's father, a friend of Stanlake who helped his son get the job, has campaigned for marijuana legalization. Moore's mother is a drug and alcohol counselor.

The judge described the father as "an unsatisfactory role model."

Miller sentenced Moore, 23, to life and said he must serve at least 18 years. Moore still denies he was the killer.

"He still shows no remorse at all for what he's done," Lisa Williams, Stanlake's daughter, said after he hearing. "Until he takes that first step he will always be a risk to society."