The area searched for Alex Latimer, now alleged to have been murdered by two men who have denied charges in the High Court. PHOTO/FILE
The area searched for Alex Latimer, now alleged to have been murdered by two men who have denied charges in the High Court. PHOTO/FILE
The name of a second man charged with murder after the discovery of a body on a farm property northwest of Napier 10 weeks ago can now be published.
The man is David James Lothian, who on Sunday turns 27 in prison where he is on remand pending further proceedingsin the High Court on February 20.
At an appearance in the Court on November 27, Lothian and James Taylor Martin Webby, 24, of Napier, each pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Napier man Alex Latimer, who was 30 at the time he died.
It's alleged he was killed on the night of September 30, but his body was not found until October 6, during extensive searches of a property near Te Haroto, alongside alongside State Highway 5 and about 55km from Napier.
At the November appearance, counsel for Lothian successfully sought continued interim suppression of name, but the application has been withdrawn and the order lapsed today. Both men remain in custody, and a trial is not expected to be held before next September.
