St Johns Rd homicide: Not guilty plea entered for 16yo accused of murdering Kyle Whorrall at Auckland bus stop

• Not guilty pleas were entered by a 16-year-old and a 32-year-old woman in the murder case of Kyle Whorrall.
• Justice Graham Lang set a four-week trial for August 31 next year, with interim name suppression for the teen.
• Whorrall, 33, was attacked with a “long” weapon at a Meadowbank bus stop on April 22.

Not guilty pleas have been entered and a trial date set for next year for a 16-year-old accused of having murdered American entomology student Kyle Whorrall at an Auckland bus stop last month.

The teen wore a white Nike tracksuit today as he stood in the dock before Justice Graham Lang for his first appearance in the High Court at Auckland.

His co-defendant, a 32-year-old North Shore woman charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, appeared via an audio-video feed from custody.

Kyle Whorrall was fatally attacked at a bus stop on St Johns Rd.

She also entered a not guilty plea through her lawyer.

Justice Lang ordered a four-week trial to commence on August 31 next year.

He approved a request by defence lawyer Paul Borich KC for interim name suppression to continue until at least the teen’s next court appearance in July.

Police say two occupants of the erratically-driven vehicle attacked Whorrall while he was sitting alone at a bus stop in Meadowbank on the night of April 22.

Whorrall, 33, was struck with a “long” weapon, suffering multiple head injuries, and later died in hospital.

The teen’s adult co-defendant is accused of having “actively suppressed” evidence by selling a car to help him escape after arrest.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.

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