Latest from Assault and Homicide

Rare mutated pollen links to gang pad

An extremely rare mutated grass pollen found on Mellory Manning's clothing matched samples taken from the Mongrel Mob gang pad where police say she was brutally murdered.

'Shoot me!' shouts Dad after killing

An estranged father who bashed and stabbed his son to death at a Melbourne cricket practice session started screaming "shoot me" when police arrived.

Jury's deadlock upsets father

The father of a woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend says the prospect of enduring a retrial is disheartening.

Relief over manslaughter verdict

Lucille Scollay was found guilty of manslaughter by stabbing her husband through the heart, both her family and her victim's gasped with relief.

Nia Glassie's mum granted parole

The mother of tortured Rotorua three-year-old Nia Glassie will be released from prison after being granted parole.

'They were looking for her'

A man who hired sex worker Mellory Manning on the night she was killed was unable to reach her by text later that night, the High Court at Christchurch has been told.

Cocktail of drugs consumed, court told

Christchurch sex worker Mellory Manning had consumed a variety of drugs in the days and hours before she was brutally murdered, a jury has been told today.

Victim of king-hit attack now stable

A man left fighting for his life after an assault in a central Auckland bar was felled with a single punch he didn't see coming, say staff who witnessed the unprovoked attack.

'Blood-curdling scream' heard

A witness who sold drugs to slain Christchurch sex worker Mellory Manning has described hearing a "blood-curdling" scream coming from the direction of a Mongrel Mob gang pad the night Mellory Manning was killed.

'Harmless as a butterfly'

One mother's pain at losing her daughter was matched by another mother's anger at losing her son, as the man found guilty of murdering Rae Portman was jailed for life.

Rae Portman's killer jailed

The man found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Hamilton woman Rae Portman will serve at least 21 years in jail.

Jail for 'detestable' attack

Auckland crime figure Petar Vitali has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison for assaulting a young woman who believed she was his biological daughter.

Crim faces jail for attack on 'daughter'

Notorious Auckland crime figure Petar Vitali will be sentenced today for a brutal attack on a young woman who looked on him as a father.

Four rail workers attacked in past week

Arrests have been made after four workers were attacked on Auckland's rail network in the past week, sparking a union call for better protection.

Stevie Simkin: Fresh murder verdict new chapter in 'Foxy Knoxy' saga

Daughter's delight over Pora appeal

Teina Pora's grandson is just a little older than his daughter was when Pora was sent to prison in 1994 for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett two years earlier. Teina Pora with grandson Benson Bennett. Picture / Sarah Ivey

Man jailed for eye stabbing

A man who stabbed a fellow partygoer through the eye with such force that the knife embedded in his skull has today been jailed for more than eight years.

Anthony Morahan: Punishing dead men will do nothing for families

Understandably, there has been much comment in the media concerning the tragedy in Dunedin involving the killing of two children by their father.