A 35-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Hamilton schoolgirl Kelly Gush.
The 12-year-old Fairfield Intermediate School student died from head injuries at Auckland's Starship hospital on Sunday. She had been transferred there from Waikato Hospital, where she was admitted the previous day.
Police arrested an unemployed Hamilton man and charged him with murder yesterday morning. He was remanded in custody after appearing in the Hamilton District Court around midday.
Detective Senior Sergeant Glenn Dunbier said the man, who was granted interim name suppression, was known to Kelly and police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter.
But they are still trying to find her natural father, an itinerant, who is still to be informed of the death.
Residents who lived in the same quiet Hamilton street as Kelly were yesterday shocked by her death. Blinds and curtains remained shut in the family home which was unoccupied for most of the day.
Neighbours said the family were quiet and had kept to themselves since moving into the street this year. They saw little of Kelly except for when she walked to and from the nearby school.
Pupils at Fairfield Intermediate school were told of Kelly's death on Tuesday.
Man charged over 12-year-old's death
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