Carly Jasmin Lainala Stewart, Te Atatu stabbing victim, a 'beautiful soul'

Carly Jasmine Lainala Stewart, 36, was stabbed to death In Te Atatu on Saturday. A 36-year-old woman has been charged with her murder. Photo / Supplied

Friends and family of Carly Jasmin Lainala Stewart, the victim of a fatal Te Atatu stabbing, have paid tribute to the young mother.

Emily Latimer told the Herald her friend "had so much love to give".

"She was always happy, even in a sad situation she would always find the positive side to everything.

"It's so tragic how things ended, but in her last moments of life she was surrounded with the most important people she loved."

A niece paid tribute to Stewart, calling her "a beautiful soul who loved her family so much".

At her workplace Superior Personnel, a recruitment company in East Tamaki, the mother of two boys was remembered as being dedicated to her clients.

"She was a very loyal and well-respected member of staff. She will be sadly missed," the company's director Andrew Berry said.

A neighbour described her as a lovely, polite woman.

Old schoolmates remembered the times they shared with her at Bruce McLaren Intermediate in Henderson, and later at high school.

But to two little boys she was simply ''mum''.

The 36-year-old died surrounded by friends she had grown up with, after she was stabbed at a girls' day out at a house on School Rd, in Te Atatu South, on Saturday afternoon.

At Stewart's house in South Auckland yesterday, family and friends dressed in black gathered outside, quietly talking to each other and drinking cups of tea.

Tents and a marquee had been set up at the back where other family members were preparing food.

The family declined to comment, only to say that they would be farewelling their loved one at a service on Friday.

A family notice in the Herald today said Stewart was the daughter of Reg and Charlene, and Ray, and a beloved sister to Reuben and Miriana.

Her final farewell will be held at a funeral home on Central Park Drive, in Henderson - less than a minute's drive away from the house in which she lost her life.

A woman who lived at the Te Atatu property - and had hosted the pampering event - said witnesses were "all just devastated, just really wrecked".

It had started out as a "beautiful" day, but had turned sour when another woman, also 36, arrived at the property uninvited and stabbed Stewart, the host said.

The woman charged with Stewart's murder was tearful when she appeared in Waitakere District Court today.

She held her hands on her head while she stood in the dock.

The accused was given interim name suppression.

Another stabbing only hours later

The same day Stewart was stabbed a 42-year-old man died in a stabbing in nearby Glendene.

The victim, Ronald Clayton Karipa, died in hospital after he was stabbed on Hepburn Rd.

A 23-year-old appeared in Waitakere District Court today charged with Karipa's murder.