News briefs: Whale watch continues; murder accessory named

A close-up of the injuries sustained by the southern bottlenose whale which has been seen in the Bay of Islands. Photo / DoC

Whale watch continues

A young southern bottlenose whale believed to be injured and unwell is being kept under close observation, says the Department of Conservation (DoC). Bronwyn Bauer-Hunt, operations manager for Pēwhairangi/Bay of Islands DoC, said the whale spotted in the Bay of Islands appeared to be a juvenile that may have been separated from its pod. Bauer-Hunt said it appeared unwell and may still be dependent on other animals, given its small size. Marine experts had advised DoC that the best course of action currently was to monitor the whale’s welfare.

Murder accessory accused can be named

A Whangārei woman charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder can now be named.

Leonie Farell, aged 32, appeared in Whangārei District Court on Wednesday afternoon before Judge Gene Tomlinson charged her with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Bob Kleiman, 56, who was found dead inside an Edge St property in Onerahi on October 27.

The woman also faced unrelated charges of obtaining by deception and money laundering.

She was initially granted interim name suppression that lapsed at 1.30pm on Thursday.

Judge Tomlinson also refused bail and remanded the woman in custody to reappear in the High Court at Whangārei on February 3.

Whangārei fisherman Ike Wellington Kingi is accused of killing Kleiman. The 42-year-old defendant pleaded not guilty to one count of murder when he appeared in the High Court on November 11.

Kingi will next appear in February, and his trial has been scheduled for three weeks in June 2024.

Two Far North water incidents

A kayaker has died and a missing freediver has been found alive in separate incidents on the same stretch of Northland coast.

Emergency services were initially alerted around 1pm yesterday to an overdue kayaker at Matauri Bay.

The deceased kayaker was found on rocks by members of the public. The body has been recovered.

Police were still at the scene talking to people in the area.

Detective Sergeant Paul Overton, of Northland Police Search and Rescue, said staff were on their way to Matauri Bay to look for the missing kayaker when a freediver was reported missing from another bay a short distance further north.

He had been diving from a boat when his companions lost sight of him.

Two helicopters, a Whangaroa Coastguard vessel and an aircraft from Kerikeri-based Northland Coastguard Air Patrol were dispatched, along with local police.

About 2.20pm, the freediver was located safe and well a few bays away, before Coastguard volunteers reached the area.

A police spokesperson said the kayaker’s death would be referred to the Coroner to determine the cause.

Girl hurt in tree fall

A Kerikeri girl was seriously hurt after falling from an approximately 2.5-metre-high tree on Wednesday morning. The girl was airlifted to Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter around 11am.