One of the four men charged with the 2018 mistaken identity killing of David Kuka has pleaded guilty to one charge of murder.

Dane Pukepuke appeared at the High Court in Tauranga on Thursday where he entered the guilty plea to one charge, that on February 11, 2018, with co-accused Luke Belmont, Adrian Rewiri and Maru Wright, he murdered David Kuka.

Belmont, Rewiri and Wright have all entered not guilty pleas to their charges of murder.

Justice Graham Lang convicted Pukepuke of murder, but declined to set a sentence date after his lawyer Martin Hine told the court there was still no agreed summary of facts.

Pukepuke was remanded in custody until a next appearance on November 16, when a sentencing date will be set.

Kuka was fatally shot at a Tauranga address on February 11, 2018, the second homicide to take place at the Wilrose Place address within a month.

David Kuka was shot dead at his home in Gate Pā in Tauranga in 2018. Photo: NZ Police.

Detective Sergeant Paul Barron earlier told Stuff police had a narrowed down a list of suspects, and that he remained 'confident” they will eventually solve the case.

The strongest theory police have for Kuka's death traces back to an idea of a mistaken identity, linked to the same Gate Pa address where he was killed – the site of another killing just over a month before on January 3.

The 'taxing” of a Nissan Maxima belonging to street level drug dealer Colin Jeffries-Smith may be what set in train events that left two men, Kuka one of them, dead.

On the third anniversary of her father's shooting Kuka's daughter Te Kimioranga Te Kuka spoke to Stuff about her father's killing, admitting it was 'hard to deal with”.

She also told Stuff what she would say to the person who killed her father.

Just why?”

'What else is there. What did he ever do to deserve this? That's it.”

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.