Man charged over George Taiaroa shooting

George Taiaroa

UPDATE:
A 45 year-old man arrested in relation to the death of George Taiaroa has now been charged with murder.

He was arrested without incident at an address in Stratford this morning and will appear at New Plymouth District Court tomorrow.

Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson said: "I've stated on a number of occasions in the last couple of years that the passing of time doesn't lower our resolve; it just increases our determination. The professionalism and commitment of the team investigating Mr Taiaroa's death has not wavered for a second, and it is their determination and attention to detail that has got us to this point."

"There is still a great deal of work ahead of us as we enter into another significant phase in the investigation, and to protect the integrity of those legal proceedings it's not appropriate for me to elaborate further on today's development," he said.

Mr Anderson also acknowledged Mr Taiaroa's whanau.

"They have been kept informed regularly and they have shown great patience, strength and dignity throughout."

EARLIER:
A man has been arrested over the murder of George Taiaroa, two years after he was fatally shot while working at a road construction site north of Taupo.

The Rotorua Daily Post has learned that a man in his 40s was arrested in Stratford this morning. Mr Taiaroa was killed on March 19, 2013.

Ahead of the second anniversary of the killing police vowed to find the person responsible.

"The passing of time doesn't lower our resolve; if anything it increases our determination, and the team remains committed to bringing the man responsible for the murder of Mr Taiaroa to justice," said Detective Inspector Tim Anderson.

"In order to protect the integrity of the investigation I can't comment on the nature of that work, but it is fair to say we have made some progress."

At the time he said that despite two years passing, nothing had diverted police from their theory behind the murder and there only remained one prime suspect.

A Jeep seen near where Mr Taiaroa was working, at Atiamuri about 45km north of Taupo, had remained a focus of police inquiries. Police had stated that the Cherokee - seized in the weeks after Mr Taiaroa's death - was linked to the incident.