Hillcrest homicide: Darren Couper named as co-defendant in North Shore murder case

Kevin Hay, 50, was killed in Northcote on August 16. Photo / Facebook

A second man charged with murder after an “altercation” at an Auckland home can now be named.

Kevin Patrick Hay, 50, died on August 16 after police were called to an Ocean View Rd home in Hillcrest on Auckland's North Shore about 10pm.

Detective Inspector Kevin McNaughton said at the time that emergency services provided medical assistance to the critically injured man but he died at the scene.

Two men were charged with Hay's murder the next week but were granted name suppression.

One of those men was due to appear in the High Court at Auckland this afternoon for a name suppression hearing. However, that was dropped by his lawyer so he can now be named as Darren Troy Couper, aged 56.

Police at the scene of a death on Ocean View Rd, Hillcrest, last month. Photo / Ben Leahy

The other man was named in September as Peter Greene, 56, after his lawyer Rosemary Thomson told the court he wasn't seeking further name suppression.

Both men were arrested and charged with the murder of Kevin Hay about a week after the death.

They initially appeared at North Shore District Court before the case was transferred to the High Court.

They have both pleaded not guilty to murder.

After Hay's death, friends described him on social media as a "tough" and "formidable" man who "had a beautiful heart and loved helping people".

"Remember him laughing, remember his giant hugs, remember the good times," they said.

Couper and Greene are set to go to trial in March 2024.