Police at the scene of a homicide in Whangārei on Norfolk Street. Photo / Brodie Stone
A man has been charged with murdering another man at a Whangārei house.
Detective Senior Sergeant Michelle Harris said emergency services were called to a house on Norfolk Street at about 5pm yesterday, where they found an unresponsive man.
He died at the scene, Harris said.
Police arrested a 53-year-old man known to the victim at the address. The man has now been charged with murder, police said on Sunday afternoon.
The accused is due to appear in Whangārei District Court tomorrow.
The property is bordered by two mental health and addiction services providers - Emerge Aotearoa and Arataki Ministries.
Norfolk St is close to Whangārei’s CBD and backs onto Bank St, the main road through town.
A Whangārei resident of 30 years, Lance Bax, told the Northern Advocate he believed crime had increased in the city in the last month or so.
“It’s a bit of a worry and hard to explain.
“You’ve got to be a bit more wary and cautious of where your kids are,” he said.
“It’s a bit surreal. You can’t believe that sort of stuff is happening in Whangārei.”
Bax said a lot of elderly people lived on Norfolk St, and with churches and takeaway restaurants in the area it was a busy part of town.
A resident who lives on Norfolk St said she realised the incident was significant when more and more emergency services arrived on the scene last night.
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said neighbours gathered outside to check on each other and find out more about what happened.
She felt nervous so approached police at the scene who reassured her, “there’s no madman running around”.
“It’s a bit close to home,” she told the Northern Advocate.
“I never thought I’d live in a street where this would happen. It’s getting a lot more violent, and there’s a lot more drugs around.”
Police have laid a murder charge in relation to a Kaikohe homicide.
Emergency services were called to a property on Mangakahia Road, about 5km south of the town, at around 9am yesterday. A man had been stabbed and died at the scene.
A man taken into custody at the time has now been charged with murder.
The 44-year-old man will appear in Kaikohe District Court tomorrow.
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Complainant alleges the abuse began the day she came into the man's care.