Shannon John Brady named in Northland murder case, trial set

Shannon Brady appears in the High Court at Whangārei charged with the murder of Nicholas Baldwin. Photo / NZME

Name suppression has lapsed for a person charged with the murder of a man hit by a car in the Far North.

Shannon John Brady, 50, of Waimamaku appeared in the High Court at Whangārei on Friday via audio-visual link from prison and entered a not-guilty plea to the murder of Nicholas Baldwin.

Police launched the homicide investigation after the 51-year-old Baldwin was found seriously injured on the side of State Highway 12 at 8.47 am on August 1.

He died at the scene a short time later.

Later the same day, a nearby property was secured and police seized a vehicle allegedly involved.

It took investigators some days to piece together the details of what happened, and dash cam footage was requested from anyone travelling around the area 4km south of Waimamaku, in the Hokianga.

Brady’s lawyer, Douglas Blaikie, told the court the trial would come down to one question: Was it an accident or deliberate?

Brady previously had name suppression, which lapsed today. He was expected to make a bail application later on Friday.

A two-week trial was scheduled for April 13, 2026, but Justice Timothy Brewer indicated he would try his best to have the trial date moved to possibly November 2025.

Brady’s next appearance will be on November 25 for a case review hearing.

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.