Man charged with murdering Thames man Maxwell Connor appears in Kaitāia court

Police cordoned off a street in Thames this week after a man was found with moderate injuries and later died in hospital.

The 28-year-old man charged with murdering 60-year-old Maxwell Connor in Thames earlier this week has appeared in court.

The accused was granted interim name suppression at the hearing in the Kaitāia District Court today and was remanded into custody.

He was arrested on Wednesday in the Far North following an alleged incident on Rolleston Street, Thames, on Monday at about 3.40pm.

Connor was taken to hospital following an alleged altercation but died overnight.

He was reportedly a well-known member of the Coromandel community who had an unforgettable laugh recognisable from a distance.

A fundraising page set up to assist with funeral costs described Connor as a welcoming guy who loved to play pool at his local pub.

The murder suspect has appeared in the Kaitāia District Court. Photo / File

On Tuesday, a section of Rolleston St was cordoned off by police with a gazebo erected outside a property.

A nearby resident said the house police were investigating had been renovated “a couple of months ago”.

“It’s not a rough area, it’s just the odd house which gets rough people,” he said.

The daughter of a woman living near the property said her mum heard “loud yelling” on Monday afternoon.

The woman didn’t hear anything specific, but she told her daughter it was a shared driveway with new tenants, who played music “very loudly”.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kristine Clarke said police still wanted to hear from anyone who saw the alleged altercation.

Anyone with information can phone police on 105, or contact them online, and reference the file number: 250113/5723.

Clarke said their thoughts were with the whānau of Connor at this time.

The accused will next appear in the High Court at Hamilton on February 4.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.