This article first appeared on Stuff.
The man accused of the murder of an eight-year-old boy faced angry reactions from the public gallery when he appeared in Hamilton District Court on Monday afternoon.
There was an outburst in the courtroom from two men in the public gallery when the 37-year-old man appeared, charged with murder and two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
“F... you, motherf...er,” yelled one man, before being escorted out by court security officers.
“We are going to get you, bro. You are f...ing dead, man.”
Another man, who was similarly speedily ejected from the courtroom, simply raised his finger at the defendant, who was clad in a police-issue boiler suit.
“F... you,” the man in the public gallery said.
The man, who was represented in court by duty lawyer Maria Young, was remanded by community magistrate Ngaire Mascelle without plea and in custody to next appear in the High Court in Hamilton on September 17.
He was granted interim name suppression until that date.
‘Rest in eternal love’
The boy, who died following the “violent altercation” at a Hamilton home over the weekend, has been named by a relative.
In a post on Facebook, a relative said it was with “great sadness and heartbreak that we announce the tragic passing of our boy Zahquiel John Thomas Patrick Taipeti”.
Taipeti’s father was also injured but was in a stable condition and was to have surgery on Monday, the relative said in the post.
The young boy’s mother died more than a year ago.
“Whanau please bear with us. At this point we are still waiting on what’s happening and how long.”
The relative said in the post that Taipeti would be taken to Auckland some time on Monday. Once he was with his family, he would be taken to Whakatāne.
“Rest in the arms of mum our boy… Rest in eternal love MyBro.”
The boy’s family declined to comment to Stuff.
Murder charge laid after boy dies from critical injuries
Three people were injured in the incident on Anthony Crescent in Bader, with a homicide investigation launched after the boy died from critical injuries later that night.
Stuff understands the attack on the child, at about 5.20pm on Sunday according to police, allegedly involved weapons.
Two other adults were moderately and seriously injured in the fight, Hamilton City Field Crime Manager Inspector Darrell Harpur said.
A person who lives on Anthony Cres told Stuff he could hear people at the property “raging up, having a party” about 5pm on Sunday.
“All I heard was older adults and girls and boys raging up a storm,” he said.
While the street was generally quiet, he’d had problems with people at the property in question.
“The neighbours are all good, except these fellas over here.”
People at the property had intimidated him in the past, he said.
“I was threatened by them but I don’t give a shit ... [I] just shut my door.”
A swimming pool sat in the back yard on what was a cold and foggy morning, with washing still hanging on the line.
He was not surprised to hear weapons had allegedly been used against the child, claiming a person at the property had pointed a gun toward him from one of the windows previously.
“I saw him with the gun, and when I looked at him he put the gun down and closed the curtain,” he said.
He knew something was wrong on Sunday when he saw emergency services at the property.
“I opened up my curtains and all I could see at night time was headlights shining down my driveway and police officers were going back and forwards.”
Residents of the street told the Waikato Times they had tried to get the occupants of the house removed due to their “disturbing” behaviour.
A resident, who didn’t want to be named for fear of retribution, said they had put in numerous calls and emails to the property manager regarding the occupants.
In one previous incident, there was a “loud and aggressive” altercation and all the windows at the property were smashed. Police were called, the resident said.
One woman said she had feared a person was going to get hurt.
The boy had a dog, which he clearly loved.
- Stuff