Manurewa murder: Auckland man accused of killing teen girl appears in court

An Auckland man accused of killing a teenager remembered as “a very beautiful butterfly” appeared in court this afternoon.

Police announced today they had charged a 23-year-old with the murder of a girl, aged 16.

Her body was found on a narrow, dead-end road where the Homai train station sits in Manurewa on Saturday afternoon.

The man was granted interim name suppression at Manukau District Court this afternoon.

He was remanded in custody until his next appearance on October 6 at the High Court in Auckland. He was represented by high-profile lawyer Ron Mansfield QC.

He stood in the dock wearing a Covid-19 mask and PPE gear.

Her family are shocked by her tragic death and “distraught”, but a spokesperson told the Herald they are relieved the police homicide investigation has led to an arrest.

They are waiting for alert level restrictions to ease in Auckland before they can proceed with tangihanga.

Friends and family have remembered the teen for being “well loved” by the Manurewa community, caring and “full of life”.

The Manurewa Marae is providing support to her family during this time, including food parcels.

“This incident was extremely upsetting to the Manurewa and wider Counties Manukau community and while the arrest today does not change the outcome, we hope it offers some degree of reassurance to the community,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said earlier today.

The teenager’s identity has not been released because her family filed an interim name suppression application with the coroner’s office.

Later this afternoon, the court agreed to make that interim order, so the girl and her family now have name suppression.

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