A hitchhiker has pleaded guilty to murdering a man who picked him up and offered him a bed for the night.
Morgan Wayne Knight, 21, pleaded guilty in the High Court at Rotorua this morning to murdering 64-year-old Tokaanu man Gordon Tunnicliffe in his home near Turangi on April 14.
Mr Tunnicliffe reportedly picked up Knight while travelling from Taupo, offered to put him up for the night and was assaulted during a confrontation. He never regained consciouness and died two weeks later.
Knight will be sentenced in Rotorua on October 31.
