The lawyer of a former NZ Olympian says he is pleased with two not guilty verdicts on charges of raping and assaulting his wife, but wouldn't comment on the possibility of a retrial.

A former girlfriend of murdered New Zealander Jordan Lucas says he was a generous, mellow man.

Family members of a NZ surfer found dead on a surf beach in Bali are on their way to Indonesia and are being helped by the NZ consulate there.

The brother of the man who killed liquor store owner Navtej Singh has been sentenced over an aggravated robbery of a tinnie house a day before the fatal shooting.

The man convicted of killing teenager Liam Ashley four years ago has been found guilty of kidnapping, threatening to kill and assault with an offensive weapon.

Police investigating the murder of a Wellington woman are looking for a man who may have spent time with the victim.

A teenager charged with assault following the death of a man during a street brawl in south Auckland has appeared briefly in court.

A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of an off-duty police officer.

A woman police constable was attacked by a motorist she pulled over for drunken driving.

Cops are being told "anything goes" when it comes to protecting themselves against dangerous and violent offenders.

Notorious double murderer Graeme Burton has been caught with a knife in his prison cell - sparking a prison security investigation.

Soap's plot echoes the horrifying Sophie Elliott saga, which saw a young student brutally killed by her tutor.

The two surviving daughters of multiple-infant killer Dominique Cottrez describe her as a doting mother who selflessly devoted herself to her family.

A neighbour heard death threats coming from a Wellington council flat where a woman was brutally murdered.