Edmonds was then arrested and appeared in the Kaikohe District Court last month.
At today’s second appearance, he entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge.
As Justice David Johnstone dictated his formal minute of the proceedings, he mentioned that McKenzie was Edmonds’ uncle, triggering some emotion from the packed public gallery.
“He’s not our whānau, bro,” one person said, referring to Edmonds.
Edmonds began to shuffle on his feet while in the dock.
Then, as the hearing finished and he was being led away to be taken back into custody, he began a mihi to the people in the public gallery, addressing them in te reo Māori.
As security guards tried to move him on, Edmonds said to the gallery, “Aroha mai whānau, aroha mai. I wanted to apologise earlier through our cousin.”
His lawyer, Mathew Ridgley, told him to stop talking, to which Edmonds responded, “I have to ‘cause they’re my whānau.”
“We’re not your whānau,” a member of the public said.
A three-week trial has been scheduled to begin on September 20, 2027.
Edmonds will next appear for a case review hearing on July 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.
