Two appear in court charged with murder of ‘gentle giant’ Darcy Strickland

Darcy Strickland was found injured outside a Flaxmere house on October 13 and died at the scene. Photo / Supplied

Two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of Hastings man Darcy Strickland.

Both appeared in the Hastings District Court on Tuesday and were remanded without plea to the High Court at Napier on December 2.

Judge Bridget Mackintosh granted both men interim name suppression until their next appearance.

The men, aged 19 and 22, appeared in court separately via audio-visual link from prison and will remain in custody.

Charges of wounding which had been laid against both men earlier were withdrawn after the murder charges were laid.

Strickland, 29, has been described by his family as a “gentle giant”.

He was found injured outside a house in Ramsay Crescent, Flaxmere, just before midnight on October 13. He died at the scene.

The 19-year-old also faced a charge of injuring with intent, related to the alleged assault of a woman in the same incident.