A 33-year-old Massey, West Auckland man made a brief appearance before two Justices of the Peace in the Kaitaia District Court yesterday charged with the murder of Connor Morris in Auckland on August 3.
He was granted name suppression and remanded in custody to appear in the Auckland High Court on September 3.
The man was arrested by Auckland police in the Kaitaia area yesterday morning, his court appearance taking place without media notification, a measure designed to negate any potential for disorder in the court environs. It is not known if the arrested man has gang affiliations. He is not believed to be local to the Kaitaia area.
Mr Morris, routinely described by media as the partner of six years of Millie Elder-Holmes, suffered a fatal head injury in the course of a confrontation outside a party in Massey.
Last week a Sunday newspaper reported that two men who lived at the address in the immediate vicinity of the attack had gone into hiding amid fears of retaliation, and on police advice. They had reportedly not returned to their home since the death of Mr Morris, who had strong links to the Headhunters gang.
