Man charged with Jack Nicholas murder

Jack Nicholas

Police have charged a man with the 2004 murder of Hawke's Bay farmer Jack Nicholas.

The accused man, a 49-year-old construction worker, appeared in the Napier District Court this morning.

Judge Barry Morris refused the man continued name suppression. But he was given 48 hours to appeal that decision to the High Court, so he cannot be named until at least 10am on Friday.

The man remains in custody until his next court appearance on May 24.

He has already been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. He allegedly procured a woman to make a false statement to police during inquiries into the murder.

Detective Sergeant Bill Gregory said the decision to bring the murder charge was taken earlier this week following a meeting between police and the Crown Solicitor.

Mr Nicholas' brother, Craig Nicholas, welcomed the news. He said it was a relief for both the family - who were informed of the charge last night - and the local community.

Craig Nicholas said: "It is just great news. Of course there is a long way to go. There has got to be a conviction first."

Oliver Nicholas, one of Mr Nicholas' sons, added that the news brought some degree of finality to what had been a troubled time for the family.

"All we've wanted is for someone to be accountable for what happened," he said. "But at the end of the day you still wonder why. I don't know if we will ever really know that."

Mr Nicholas' widow Agnes declined to comment.

Police stepped up their efforts on the case at the end of last year after new information was provided by someone who contacted Garth McVicar of the Sensible Sentencing Trust.

Mr Gregory said: "Mr McVicar encouraged this person to pass the information directly to the police which enabled us to interview that person."

"We are elated to get a result like this," Mr Gregory added. "But we have to be mindful that this was a tragic event for the family of Jack and their emotions will be running high."

The man was arrested last week amid a flurry of activity that saw police search several properties in the seaside settlement of Haumoana, near Napier, seize several vehicles, and conduct a search of the nearby Tukituki riverbank for evidence.

Mr Nicholas was shot dead at the gate of his remote farm at Puketitiri, northwest of Napier, on August 27, 2004.

Timeline: Jack Nicholas murder

* AUGUST 27, 2004: Jack Nicholas is shot dead on his Puketitiri property. A homicide investigation is launched. A team of 22 police, including the Armed Offenders Squad, is ferried into the area by helicopter.

* SEPTEMBER 3, 2004: On the day of Mr Nicholas' funeral, police set up a dawn checkpoint at Rissington, stopping all vehicles leaving the area.

* SEPTEMBER 17, 2004: Police appeal for a man who went to the Bay View police station on the evening of the shooting to make contact with them.

* OCTOBER 12, 2004: Police shortlist three vehicles of interest in relation to the shooting - a white late-model Japanese 4x4, and possibly one or two newer 4x4-type vehicles.

* OCTOBER 14, 2004: Police step up the collection of firearms from owners across a wide stretch of the region.

* JANUARY 17, 2005: "We are not stumped," says then inquiry chief, Inspector Godfrey Watson, although he conceded at that stage an arrest was not imminent.

* JANUARY 22, 2005: The Sensible Sentencing Trust launches a nationwide fundraising campaign in a bid to find Mr Nicholas' killer. Hawke's Bay millionaire Rodney Green later pledged to donate $25,000 to the fundraising drive.

* FEBRUARY 4, 2005: Police reveal tests on more than 60 firearms seized as part of the investigation into the murder have failed to uncover the weapon used in the shooting.

* MARCH 16, 2005: About a dozen police and civilians move into the Puketitiri region as part of a ground search ordered by detectives investigating Mr Nicholas' murder.

* APRIL 6, 2005: A man is sentenced to 100 hours' community work on firearms charges laid by the police team investigating Mr Nicholas' murder. A second man was fined $400 on April 20.

* APRIL 27, 2005: The number of officers working on the investigation is dropped to three, eight months to the day after Mr Nicholas was killed.

* LATE APRIL 2005: An anonymous caller rings the Sensible Sentencing Trust claiming to be an accessory after the fact in the murder of Mr Nicholas, demanding $50,000 and immunity from prosecution in exchange for information. His claims were later found to be a hoax.

* MAY 2005: A second anonymous caller rings Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar, describing Mr Nicholas' killer as a "trigger man" dubbed "Action", living "up north" who was hired to kill the farmer.

* JUNE 9, 2005: Lots of theories, including several from psychics, had been passed on to the police team but, as file chief detective sergeant Dan Foley said, still no firm leads.

* AUGUST 2005: A year down the track, and the family of Jack Nicholas remain convinced the killer will be found. His widow Agnes, wearied by the media attention, was said to have worked at getting on with her life again. Her sister Elizabeth said she was "doing fine".

* APRIL 13, 2006: Police search a Grove Road, Haumoana, property and recover two gun cartridges. Earlier in the week, people in the Puketitiri area were given fliers asking them to report any sightings of a red or orange coloured 1981 Mazda 323.

* APRIL 18, 2006: Detectives arrest a man and charge him with perverting the course of justice in relation to the inquiry. He is remanded in custody.

* MAY 2, 2006: The man is charged with murder.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA, HAWKE'S BAY TODAY