The parents of a one-year-old who a jury has found was killed by his godmother say they take no pleasure in the guilty verdict.
A High Court jury in Auckland found Mariam Filihia guilty on Saturday of murdering Terepo Taura-Griffiths, known as Popo, in November 2011.
The 33-year-old was found not guilty of causing the toddler grievous bodily harm earlier that year.
In a written statement, Terepo's parents say they take no pleasure in the guilty verdict but have a sense of relief that justice has prevailed.
The family say they now hope to rebuild their lives.
Police say they are satisfied with the guilty verdict after what was a challenging investigation.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Darrell Harpur, says the verdict means closure for the victim's family.
"With these non-accidental injuries to very young children they're always difficult, they always take time to investigate, there's always elements or medical evidence that's debated and I think this jury paid particular attention to the evidence," he says.
Mariam Filihia will be sentenced in October.
