Northland 12-year-old could be youngest NZer charged with murder

Police investigators at Imms Rd, near Ōkaihau, after a 62-year-old man was found critically injured on the evening of September 27. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Far North boy who appeared in court last week could be the youngest New Zealander to be charged with murder.

The 12-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared in the Kaikohe Youth Court on December 20 charged with murdering Michael John Biggins on the evening of September 27 this year.

He is jointly charged with a boy now aged 15 who was arrested the day after Biggins was found critically injured in what at first appeared to be a car crash.

The other boy was aged 14 at the time.

It is understood the delay in laying charges against the younger boy was because police had to seek detailed legal advice.

At the time of the alleged offence he was aged 12 years and 239 days.

Police sealed off Imms Rd after a man was found critically injured in his car on the evening of September 27. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Biggins, who was 62, was found in his car which had crashed into a row of trees beside a paddock on Imms Rd, not far from his Ōkaihau home.

He died at the scene despite the efforts of emergency services.

As soon as it became apparent the fatal injuries were not related to the crash police cordoned off the road and brought in a team of specialist crime investigators.

Police said Biggins was a much-loved member of his family who were devastated by his loss. They continued to receive support from police and Victim Support.

The older boy, who had a bandaged hand when he first appeared in the Kaikohe Youth Court on September 29, was remanded in custody to the Korowai Manaaki youth unit in Auckland.

His lawyer raised concerns about his ability to enter a plea.

He is next due in court on March 10.

The Ministry of Justice does not release information that could lead to the identification of alleged offenders — including any details of the youngest people charged with murder — but the youngest New Zealander convicted of murder was Jordan Nelson.

Jordan Nelson was aged 13 years and 89 days when he murdered his 50-year-old caregiver in rural Taranaki. Photo / 3 News

Nelson was aged 13 years and 89 days when he shot Rosemaree Kurth, his 50-year-old caregiver and partner to his grandfather, with a .22 rifle in rural Taranaki in 2012.

He pleaded guilty at the start of his trial and was sentenced to 18 years' jail.

Bailey Kurariki is often cited as New Zealand's youngest killer but he was convicted of manslaughter, not murder.

The then 12-year-old was the lookout for a group of youths who fatally assaulted pizza delivery man Michael Choy in Auckland in 2001.

After a three-week trial earlier this month a 14-year-old Northland boy was found guilty of murdering 22-year-old Bram Willems, from Ōkaihau, in an altercation near Ōpua on the night of January 7 this year.

A sentencing date will be set in the High Court at Whangārei on February 3.