A man charged with the murder of Napier woman Te Pare Te Kahu was her partner, it was revealed when a name suppression order lapsed in the Napier District Court on Thursday.
The man is 44-year-old Matthew Ruru, who was remanded in custody by Judge Patrick Toomey for a pre-depositions
hearing on May 11.
Defence counsel Steve Manning indicated Ruru would be pleading not guilty to the charge.
It replaced a charge of assault laid when his client first appeared in court, a few hours after the 39-year-old mother-of-three, known as Polly, was found dead at her home in Plowman Crescent, Onekawa, on the morning of April 6.
Ruru had been arrested a few hours after the 39-year-old woman, known as Polly, was found dead in her home in Plowman Crescent, Onekawa.
Her tangi ended on Wednesday with a final service at the home of a relatives in Geddis Avenue, Maraenui, and burial at Western Hills Cemetery, Napier.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
