Zain Taikato Fox death: Four more charged in relation to alleged murder

Zain Taikato-Fox, 20, died from critical injuries at Rotorua Hospital in July.

Police have charged four more people in relation to the alleged murder of a Rotorua man.

Zain Taikato Fox, aged 20, died in Rotorua Hospital of critical injuries on July 26.

Last month, 12 people were charged with murdering Fox, following police enquiries and search warrants in Maketū, Rotorua and Whanganui.

Detective Inspector Craig Rawlinson said in a statement today a further four people had now been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Two, aged 18 and 62, were due to appear in court today via audio-visual link. The other two, aged 29 and 45, were set to appear in court in Tauranga tomorrow.

Rawlinson said the investigation into Zain’s death was ongoing.

“Police would ask anyone who may have information of value to us, to come forward.”

Police can be contacted via 105, referencing file number 250726/5566. Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Those facing a murder charge include a male youth arrested in Whanganui, and adult men from Maketū and Rotorua, ranging in age from 22 to 63.

At their first court appearances last month, all were remanded in custody without plea until September 19 when they will appear in the High Court at Tauranga.

All were granted interim name suppression until then.

Correction

Zain Taikato Fox’s date of death has been corrected.