Man in court charged with murder of woman in Northland

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 26-year-old woman north of Auckland.

Jasmine Cooper had texted her sister saying someone was ``creeping around'' her house in Te Hana, just north of Wellsford, but the text wasn't read until it was too late to help.

Ms Cooper was dead when police arrived at the house yesterday soon after 4am. Her child was not there.

A man has been charged with her murder and appeared briefly before a justice of the peace in North Shore District Court this morning.

He was granted interim name suppression until his next appearance in the High Court in February. Bail was not applied for and he was remanded in custody.

Police said the man, who was known to Ms Cooper, had been arrested at a house on Southgate Rd in Warkworth, about 25km away.

Police could not comment on the specifics of the death.

Ms Cooper's sister Crystal told TV3 she received a text from her sister overnight saying someone she knew was "creeping around her house and wouldn't go away''.

But Crystal said her phone was flat and she didn't read the text until she woke up in the morning and it was too late.

Her brother Zak Cooper told the network: "She was the best sister anyone could have asked for. I'm never, ever going to celebrate Christmas now.''