Those two people — alleged to be a 33-year-old East Coast man and a 22-year-old Stokes Valley woman — were arrested in Gisborne last week and appeared in court here in front of Judge Turitea Bolstad.
They were granted interim name suppression and remanded into custody without plea.
They are each charged with murdering Rawiri Wharerau, the attempted murder of his brother Hemi and being in unlawful possession of a firearm.
The female accused is further charged with using a firearm as a weapon to assault Hemi Wharerau.
They appeared in Gisborne District Court last week and have been scheduled to appear next at the February 8 High Court fixture.
Name suppression will be revisited at that hearing.
A Hutt Valley man faces similar charges to them but has not appeared in court here.
Rawiri Zane Wharerau, who was 39, and his brother Hemi, 41, were shot at their home address in Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt, during a family member’s 50th birthday party in the early hours of Saturday, December 16, last year.
Rawiri died at the address while his brother was transported to hospital in a critical condition.
The arrests of suspects in the case came after a six-week police investigation, assisted by the Stokes Valley community and whānau members. Police have confirmed Rawiri Wharerau was a patched member of Mangu Kaha — a gang associated with Black Power.
