Dunedin health professional Venod Skantha accused of murdering 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush has lost his bid for name suppression. Photo / Otago Daily Times
Dunedin health professional Venod Skantha accused of murdering 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush has lost his bid for name suppression. Photo / Otago Daily Times
The doctor accused of killing 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush has lost an appeal for his name suppression to continue.
He is Dr Venod Skantha.
Dunedin health professional Venod Skantha accused of murdering 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush has lost his bid for name suppression. Photo / Otago Daily Times
Skantha, 30, was charged with the murder of Amber-Rose on February 2 this year.
The 30-year-old defendant confirmed his not-guilty plea to the murder charge when heappeared before the High Court at Dunedin on March 6.
Amber-Rose had worked at a supermarket and aspired to be a police dog handler. She loved her family, art and going to the beach.
She was known to family as "Ambie Angel", and often spent her pay packet on her family, especially her nephew and niece, who she adored.
"She was completely selfless," her mother said.
In the days following Amber-Rose's death, police searched waterways at Blackhead and confirmed they found ''an item of interest'', understood to be a cellphone.
The teenager's funeral was held in early February, where he was described as the ''life of the party'', who pretended to be tough but was a ''marshmallow'' on the inside.
