Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato
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Large pool of blood on Kopu roadside first indicator of shooting
A large pool of blood drew the attention of the officers who were first to the scene.

Six charged after ketamine, P, ecstasy, mephedrone party drug bust
Police operation spanned more than six months and resulted in six arrests.

Murder accused felt like there'd been 'no justice' after earlier fight
Adrian Phillips felt like there had been no justice after a January fight.

Drug, alcohol factors in nearly 60 per cent of fatal crashes, study finds
Coroners have highlighted the dangers of impaired driving in their latest findings.

Milk tanker attack: Boy racer seeks discharge without conviction
The 18-year-old will keep his name suppression until sentencing in July.

Man admits drug driving causing fiery Waikato fatal truck crash
Blood tests showed Karl McQuillan had methamphetamine in his system at the time.

'Suffering demons': Man's life after killing motorist in head-on crash
The victim had been heading home after attending Americarna in New Plymouth.

Cambridge stabbing: Accused pleads not guilty to charges
The accused will stay in custody until another hearing in August.

Woman has sex with brother; files false rape complaint - he spends 7 months in jail
The woman's false rape complaint saw her brother spend seven months in custody.

'Tell my kids I love them': Man's last words before death
An internal investigation found the officers involved in the arrest did nothing wrong.

'Your rainbows will shine forever': Husband's heartache at fatal crash sentencing
Gay Kettle's family today got to confront the man responsible for her death.

Jury begins deliberations over fate of father, son after teen's finger chopped off
Aggressive violence out of revenge or self defence? Deliberations continue tomorrow.

Piopio home invasion: 'I asked them to remove him from the scene' - paramedic
St John staff noticed blood splatters on kitchen cupboards and up the wall.

Home invasion trial: 'I was lying in his blood', teen burglar tells court
The 17-year-old got upset at recalling the grisly details of that day.

'Give me your keys or I will f*****g kill you,' teen burglar's threat
The teen admitted going into the bedroom armed with a knife, bottle, broom and torch.

Teen's finger severed by father and son after burglary goes wrong
The Crown say attack was retribution - defence counsel say the actions were out of fear.

High school avoids prosecution after student drowns
Instead, an "enforceable undertaking" will cost Melville High School about $266,000.

Kmart attack: Accused granted bail - with a 22-hour curfew
She won't have an ankle bracelet, but she has strict bail conditions.

'She couldn't walk, she couldn't talk'; Man jailed for raping 'semi-comatose' woman
The judge assessed the victim as being 'semi-comatose' when she was put to bed.

Kmart attack: Second accused arrested, appears in court
The 26-year-old woman made a brief appearance in court this morning.

Reaching for cigarettes while driving proves a fatal mistake
Fabian Phillips died of surgery complications seven months after the accident.

Alleged Kmart robber appears in court, denied bail
The 24-year-old was denied bail when she appeared in court on multiple charges today.

Waikato farmer Ken McIntyre, partner avoid jail after dumping waste into stream
Kenneth McIntyre organised a contractor to unlawfully dig into a stream.

'They took my son', mother's heartache after accused appear in court over alleged historic kidnapping
The accused all entered not guilty pleas before Judge Robert Spear.

Alleged kidnapping trial aborted due to 'Covid-19 reasons'
The trial was due to start its sixth day when it had to be aborted.

Man allegedly involved in stabbing at school remanded for psychiatric report
The man was remanded in further custody for a mental health assessment.

Thai sex workers jailed for fleecing elderly men of $250k
The two sex workers were jailed today in the Hamilton District Court for their offending.

Prison corruption: Convict's partner avoids jail for part in bribing guard
In sentencing, the woman was given credit for being a first offender.

Hamilton alleged kidnapping: 'I had a threat against my baby ... it was too risky to call the cops'
A woman allegedly kidnapped says she was reluctant to call police out of fear.

Alleged kidnapping: 'I've never had that feeling of waiting for death to happen'
GPS data from an EM bracelet has given an outline of how long one accused was there.

Group robbed, stripped naked and forced to hug, Crown says
The accused wanted money - and 'were out to get it any way they could', the Crown says.

'Not the smartest idea': Man drinks six beers in car wreckage to ease pain of broken pelvis while waiting for help
Raglan community board member gets warning from judge after drink-driving charge.

Alleged milk tanker attack; Boy racer facing multiple charges appears in court
The 18-year-old man made a brief appearance in the Hamilton District Court.

Hamilton man admits fatal driving charge
Michael Barugh Way's driving killed one woman and injured another person.

Man who photographed unsuspecting women showering, getting changed in his home is jailed
Anthony Baker covertly took photos of five women in a state of undress in his home.

'A boy battling his past': Waikato methamphetamine manufacturer pens poem to judge
Alan McQuade had a traumatic childhood, which led him down a destructive path.

Father sentenced after crash kills daughter's unborn child
Wheelchair user Michael Eichler hopes to one day mend his relationship with his daughter.

Cyclists encouraged to 'take the lane' at roundabouts to keep safe
Inquest into the death of retired teacher and cyclist Mike Leach continues today.

Hamilton man in court after fatal crash on outskirts of city last year
The 67-year-old made a brief appearance in the Hamilton District Court today.

'I saw a gap and put my foot down', truck driver's fatal assumption prior to crash
Truck blind spots and wrong road markings are key issues in the inquest, the coroner says.

'It's just completely derailed me': Rape complainant's angst over court delays
Case is one of more than 80,000 to be adjourned or rescheduled in six months.

Meth cook's mum's unwitting involvement in son's P production
Steven Griffiths had a reputation as a good P cook in the drug world.

A man's haunted life after serving as a Dutch intelligence officer
The 40-year-old has a month to get to terms with his name being published.

MBIE prosecution: Hamilton man, company to fight charges of underpaying workers
Gaurav Batra and GSK Holdings entered not guilty pleas to their charges today.

Tradie complainants: Concrete contractor to fight fraud allegations
Jason Lambert is heading to trial on numerous charges.

Thai sex worker trial: Mixed verdicts for women accused of $250k fraud
The jury returned with their verdicts just after 5pm today.

Thai sex worker trial: Jury sent to begin deliberations
The pair have been on trial in the Hamilton District Court this week.

Covid-19: Trial aborted as lawyer deemed close contact
The lawyer got a text at 11.24am today saying he was a close contact of a case of Covid.

Thai sex worker trial: 'I'm still waiting for my money back,' man in 90s tells court
The women were offering a Thai massage 'with magic fingers', the 84-year-old testified.

Alleged $1.8m fraudster enters pleas, suppression continues
The 41-year-old was granted further interim name suppression when she reappeared today.

Thai sex worker trial: 'I was bloody stupid,' victim of alleged fraud tells court
The man said his massages often finished with a 'happy ending'.

Thai sex workers on trial accused of defrauding three men of $250k
The accused aged 63 and 67 allegedly gambled away their fraudulent gains, the crown said.

Te Awamutu murder: Accused's name suppression lapses as case continues to trial
A 48-year-old man died after an alleged incident just before Christmas.

Scavenging bins to selling P - Hamilton man's path to prison
Neville James Junior King was in possession of around 350g of meth when he was arrested.

Hamilton man's change of plea - admits owning dog that mauled baby to death
The man changed his plea once he was brought to court on a warrant to arrest.

Company directors charged after allegedly failing to pay workers
MBIE has not had a chance to serve papers on Sourav Sardana due to him being overseas.

Waikato DHB employee, friend avoid jail after $228k theft
The pair spent the money as quickly as it was stolen - now they don't have to pay it back.

Father, daughter relationship in tatters after crash claims unborn baby's life
Michael Eichler, 58, admitted 2 Land Transport Act charges and will be sentenced in March.

Spring Hill prison officer facing corruption charges gives up suppression bid
The Auckland man didn't pursue his suppression bid in court.