Brooklyn Jenkins pleads guilty to murdering brother Kyle on Northland road

Brooklyn Jenkins will be sentenced in May for the murder of his brother, Kyle Jenkins. Photo / NZME

A roadside argument between two brothers quickly escalated into violence as one shot the other at close range and then dragged his body down a bank to hide it from passing motorists.

Now Brooklyn Izzak Jenkins, 21, has pleaded guilty to murdering his 18-year-old brother Kyle Jenkins on a remote Northland road in 2025.

According to a summary of facts released to NZME, the brothers, who did not live together, met at KFC Whangārei at 7.30pm on January 28, 2025.

They were at the restaurant for 45 minutes before separately heading 10km south of Whangārei to Loop Rd.

As the defendant approached the Loop Rd intersection with Otaika Valley Rd, the victim overtook his older brother at speed on his Suzuki motorbike.

Kyle Jenkins then pulled over at a layby on Otaika Valley Rd, about 2km from the turn-off, parking his bike towards the road.

Brooklyn Jenkins pulled up next to his younger brother’s bike and remained in his vehicle for some time.

When he got out, an argument ensued and for some unknown reason, Kyle Jenkins removed his motorbike helmet.

After he removed his helmet, Brooklyn Jenkins shot his brother in the temple on the right side of his head with a small-calibre firearm.

He shot him a second time and that shot grazed his head, leaving a deep laceration.

Kyle Jenkins died at the scene.

Brooklyn Jenkins then dragged his brother by the feet and rolled him down a bank, where he came to rest face down in a riverbed, out of sight from motorists.

The defendant took his brother’s mobile phone and threw it 15m into a deeper section of the stream.

He then removed a 360-degree camera that was installed on his brother’s motorbike and threw it into the bush.

A local contacted police the following morning reporting there was an abandoned bike with two large pools of blood nearby.

Police attended and located the victim down the bank.

When police began their investigation they discovered Brooklyn Jenkins was a licensed firearm holder with several firearms, including a 12-gauge shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle, a single shotgun and two .22 rifles.

An autopsy confirmed Kyle Jenkins had been shot at close range with a small-calibre firearm.

Brooklyn Jenkins told police he killed his brother with a 9mm round that had been inserted into a 12-gauge shotgun with a special adaptor.

He could not explain why he did it.

He was charged with murder the day of his brother’s funeral and initially pleaded not guilty. But, in March, he pleaded guilty.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in May.

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.