NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Police officers recall conversation with Javon Aranui just after he received fatal beating in Hastings

Ric Stevens
By Ric Stevens
Open Justice reporter·NZ Herald·
20 May, 2025 06:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Police at the scene of the fatal assault on December 20 on Jellicoe St, Hastings which led to the death of Javon Aranui (inset). Photo / Paul Taylor

Police at the scene of the fatal assault on December 20 on Jellicoe St, Hastings which led to the death of Javon Aranui (inset). Photo / Paul Taylor

  • Isaiah Buchanan and Ahere Gillies are on trial charged with murdering Javon Aranui in December 2023.
  • The Crown says Aranui was subjected to multiple kicks, stomps, and punches in a Hastings street early one morning.
  • Both accused have pleaded not guilty.

Two police officers have recounted talking with an unsteady and stumbling Javon Aranui, soon after he received fatal injuries in an early-morning assault in Hastings.

The officers had been called to the suburb of Mayfair after a 111 caller said he had seen a man getting a “bloody beating” in the street near his house.

They found Aranui, 24, near Jellicoe St and talked to him before calling an ambulance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Aranui died in Wellington Hospital from a brain bleed the next day, a court has been told.

Isaiah Buchanan, 20, and Ahere Gillies, 21, are on trial in the High Court at Napier, charged with murdering Aranui, who was sometimes known as Snake.

They have both pleaded not guilty.

The Crown says that Aranui was subjected to multiple kicks, stomps and punches to his head and body while being assaulted by two men in Jellicoe St, Hastings, about 3am on December 20, 2023.

Constable Daniel Scott told the court on Tuesday that when he drove into Jellicoe St in response to the 111 call, he saw a man standing next to a bicycle that was lying on the ground.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
 Isiah Buchanan, left, and Ahere Gillies appear in the High Court at Napier charged with the murder of Javon Aranui. Photo / Ric Stevens
Isiah Buchanan, left, and Ahere Gillies appear in the High Court at Napier charged with the murder of Javon Aranui. Photo / Ric Stevens

After checking in neighbouring Hood St, Scott drove back into Jellicoe St to find the person was now riding the bicycle near the intersection with Collinge Rd.

The man was Javon Aranui. He fell off the bicycle in Collinge Rd and Scott said the officers pulled up alongside him.

“He was upright and, basically, has just fallen sideways ... just fallen to one side,” Scott said.

Scott and his fellow officer, Constable Nicholas Blair, asked Aranui if he was all right.

They looked at him in torchlight and found that he had injuries to his face and a split lip.

Aranui told them he was intoxicated. The Crown told the trial earlier that test results later showed that he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.

Aranui also told the officers that he had been beaten up some distance away, towards Havelock North.

Scott recalled him saying something along the lines of: “I’ve been biking home from Havelock North and some guys jumped me”.

Acting on a “hunch”, Scott walked around the corner into Jellicoe St and noticed droplets of blood on the pavement, which he photographed.

“It [the blood] appeared to be fresh. It was still wet,” Scott said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Scott said that he spent a while observing the house outside of which he found the blood, but did not hear or see anyone.

When he returned to Collinge Rd, an ambulance had arrived.

Scott said that Aranui was coherent and alert while he was dealing with him. He had been able to get out of the ambulance to urinate on the side of the road.

“He was quite unsteady on his feet, though,” he said.

After urinating, Aranui “stumbled” back into the ambulance.

Blair told the court that Aranui had vomited “quite a lot” while in the ambulance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“He wouldn’t go into too much detail about the assault ... he just wanted to go on his merry way,” Blair said.

The court was told earlier that the ambulance took Aranui to the Emergency Department at Hastings Hospital, from where he was transferred to Wellington.

The officers said that Aranui had been worried about what would happen to his bicycle if he was taken away by the ambulance.

The police officers said they would take it to an address he supplied them.

They removed the front wheel and put the bike in the back of the patrol car before leaving the scene.

The trial before Justice Peter Churchman and a jury of eight women and four men is continuing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of frontline experience as a probation officer.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Scary as hell': Council couldn't find way to stop hoarding before weekend inferno

23 Jun 06:00 PM
New Zealand

'Intolerable': Delays for quake-prone fire station rebuild sparks union ire

23 Jun 06:00 PM
New Zealand

Combined cleaner-security roles at Waikato hospitals raise safety fears

23 Jun 05:56 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Scary as hell': Council couldn't find way to stop hoarding before weekend inferno

'Scary as hell': Council couldn't find way to stop hoarding before weekend inferno

23 Jun 06:00 PM

'I just knew that one day this would happen.'

'Intolerable': Delays for quake-prone fire station rebuild sparks union ire

'Intolerable': Delays for quake-prone fire station rebuild sparks union ire

23 Jun 06:00 PM
Combined cleaner-security roles at Waikato hospitals raise safety fears

Combined cleaner-security roles at Waikato hospitals raise safety fears

23 Jun 05:56 PM
Premium
Editorial: Super Rugby Pacific has turned around – and fast

Editorial: Super Rugby Pacific has turned around – and fast

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP