Nia Glassie

Wellington, Oct 27 NZPA - One of two brothers found guilty of murdering Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie today appealed against his conviction.

Wiremu Curtis was sentenced in the High Court at Rotorua in February to life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 17-1/2 years, for the August 2007 murder of the three-year-old.

The Court of Appeal was told insufficient emphasis had been placed on the limited mental capacity of Curtis, and whether he had "conscious appreciation" that his actions could lead to death, his lawyer Craig Horsley told the court in Wellington.

During the original trial the jury was told Curtis had a mental age of up to five years below his peers. He was aged 19 when sentenced and his brother Michael was aged 22 and also jailed for life on a similar charge.

Nia suffered months of misery. She was kicked in the head, put in a clothes drier which was turned on, had wrestling moves performed on her and was flung off a clothesline before her short life ended in Starship Hospital in August 2007.

The Court reserved its decision on the Curtis appeal.

Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, aged 35 when she was sentenced in February to nine years for manslaughter, has also lodged an appeal which will be heard later today.