Motel death: accused teenagers to apply for bail

Arrested after four-day manhunt: Beauen Wallace-Loretz and Leonard Nattrass-Berquist. Photos / Supplied

Two teenagers charged with murder over the fatal assault on a man in an Auckland motel will apply for bail next week.

Leonard Nattrass-Berquist and Beauen Wallace-Loretz, both 17, appeared in Auckland District Court this morning after being arrested on Wednesday over the death of 54-year-old's Ihaia Gillman-Harris.

The pair appeared before a Justice of the Peace who only had the jurisdiction to remand them in custody until Monday when the matter will go before a judge.

Ihaia Gillman-Harris was fatally struck in a motel room in Auckland.

Applications to photograph the accused were declined after defence lawyer Murray Gibson said their pictures were already in the media and there was "not much to be gained" from new images.

The court heard at least one of the teens would make an application for bail at the next appearance.

It is alleged the pair were with Mr Gillman-Harris when he checked into an Epsom motel on December 27.

Shortly after check-in, two young men left in Mr Gillman-Harris' vehicle.
An hour later he went to reception with a serious head injury and asked for help. He died in hospital soon after.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard would not comment further on the specifics of the investigation but said the victim's family were relieved arrests had been made.

Mr Gillman-Harris was a private man who worked for KiwiRail as a team leader assistant in Auckland's Southdown freight terminal.

He spent Christmas Day in Wellington before travelling to Auckland on Boxing Day.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Gillman-Harris died as a result of blunt-force trauma to his head but police would not say if a weapon had been used.