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A Christchurch taxi driver is stabbed to death - Source: ONE News -
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The two youths accused of fatally stabbing a Christchurch taxi driver have pleaded guilty.
Abdulrahman Ikhtiari died in December 2008 after being stabbed in his taxi on Worcestor Street in Christchurch.
Scaffholder Shannon David Boyes-Warren, 17, pleaded guilty to murder, while 20-year-old painter, Randell Legion Wiremu Brown, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The two youths were to go to trial on Monday but entered guilty pleas at a special hearing in Christchurch on Friday.
Both teens also pleaded guilty to assault with intent to rob.
The Crown told the court that both had previous convictions but it did not seek preventive detention.
Family members broke down in court but offered support as the two were led away.
Ikhtiari was a 39-year-old father of five and a refugee who had brought his family to New Zealand from Afghanistan.
Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh said that at about midnight on December 5, 2008, the youths were in the central city after drinking alcohol with associates at a Linwood address.
When they ran out of money, they took Ikhtiari's taxi to go to Boyes-Warren's home in Linwood to get more. They then asked Ikhtiari to drive them back to the city.
In Worcester Street, near the Barbadoes Street corner, Boyes-Warren asked the driver to stop.
He got out of the taxi, opened the driver's door, produced the knife, and demanded money, Zarifeh said.
A struggle then began between Boyes-Warren and Ikhtiari.
During the struggle, Boyes-Warren held the knife to the driver's throat, inflicting two stab wounds, and also stabbed him three times in the leg and in the right hand.
Boyes-Warren then stabbed him in the left side of the chest, a wound that penetrated his heart.
The youths ran off in different directions while the driver tried to chase Boyes-Warren. He got as far as the middle of the road before returning to the taxi where he collapsed and died.
Boyes-Warren ran to a family member's address where he disposed of the knife.
The pair walked the streets then met up again and returned to the city to continue drinking.
They later took another taxi home and when the driver asked for the fare Boyes-Warren struck him in the face and the pair ran off.
They were found at their workplaces a few days later.
Justice Chisholm has remanded the pair in custody for sentencing on March 10.
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