Jimmy Heremaia and Ropine Paul named as men charged in connection with Ariki Rigby’s death

Jimmy Heremaia is accused of murdering Hawke's Bay teen Ariki Rigby in September 2022.

A man charged with murdering Hawke’s Bay teenager Ariki Rigby, and the arson of a burned-out car in which her body was found two years ago, can now be named.

He is Jimmy Turu Heremaia, 32.

Another man charged with being party to arson in relation to the case, Ropine Robin Paul, can also be named after suppression orders were lifted on Tuesday afternoon.

Rigby was killed in September 2022, about four weeks short of her 19th birthday, in a case that shocked Hawke’s Bay and the country.

Three weeks have been scheduled for a trial for Heremaia and Paul late next year.

Court documents reveal Rigby met Heremaia about three weeks before her death.

Details of how she died remain suppressed but the Crown alleges Heremaia placed her body in a car, which was then driven to a riverbank near Havelock North, where it was set on fire.

Heremaia is currently being held at his own request in the segregation unit of a prison.

When he applied for name suppression, his counsel argued that publication of his name and photograph would confirm his identity to other prisoners, and he feared they would be violent towards him.

However, the Crown informed the High Court that members of Rigby’s whānau were strongly opposed to continuing interim name suppression.

Ariki Rigby was found dead in a burned-out vehicle on River Road, Havelock North in September 2022.

Justice Paul Radich declined continued name suppression, saying there was “no real risk” that publication would cause him extreme hardship or endanger his safety.

The burned-out car was first reported on September 3, 2022 but police who first attended the scene believed the body inside was that of a sheep.

It was found to be that of Rigby two days later when a dog walker noticed it had long hair and a necklace and contacted police.

Police have since apologised to Rigby’s family.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.