He was initially charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but now faces one charge of murder.
The teenager appeared before Judge Bridget Mackintosh in the Youth Court this morning and was remanded in custody to next appear in the High Court at Napier on May 10.
The accused is the third Hawke's Bay teenager to be charged with murder in the space of four months.
Two 17-year-olds, a male and a female, were charged with murder after Indian national Sandeep Dhiman, 30, was found dead at Matahorua Rd near Tutira on December 18 last year.
The male, Napier teenager Shaun Liam Karauria, has since pleaded guilty to murdering Dhiman and robbing the deceased of his vehicle and cellphone after causing grievous bodily harm to him.
His sentencing is set for May 24 in the High Court at Napier.
The female, whose name is currently suppressed, still faces a charge of murder.
Donner was a well-known man in the Flaxmere community and was remembered as a talkative, friendly, "primo guy" who lived a "glorious, humble life".
The four youths charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to his death also appeared in court today.
The female was remanded on her existing bail without plea to reappear on May 3 and each of the males were remanded in custody without plea to the same date.
The teenagers were arrested almost two weeks after police launched a homicide investigation into Donner's death.
At the time police thought fear may have stopped people from revealing what they knew about the incident and made repeated appeals to people's sense of community.
Murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
