East Tāmaki murder case: 17-year-old arrested following stabbing death of 26-year-old pleads not guilty

A 17-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murder during a hearing today in the High Court at Auckland. Photo / NZME

A 17-year-old who was charged with murder - about 10 days after three people with serious stab wounds and one person with a serious gunshot wound self-presented at Middlemore Hospital - will go to trial in 2024.

The teen, who continues to have interim name suppression, was set to appear in the High Court at Auckland for the first time today via an audio-video feed from an Oranga Tamariki facility.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily injury through his lawyer, Paul Borich, KC.

Police said the injured people arrived at hospital around 4.30am on November 13, following an incident in an East Tāmaki car park off Lady Fisher Place in the Highbrook Drive area.

A 26-year-old man who had been stabbed died as a result of his injuries, while the other three were hospitalised in serious condition.

“It has taken hours of video analysis and witness interviews to accurately determine the actions of people in this particular incident,” Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Va’aelua said in a statement following the teen’s arrest on November 24.

“At this stage, police are not ruling out further arrests,” he added.

Interim name suppression was first granted for the teen last month during his first appearance on the charge at Manukau Youth Court.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald ordered today that his lawyer return to court next month to indicate if he will seek to continue name suppression for his client.

She directed a five-week trial to commence on April 8, 2024.