KEY POINTS:
The man accused of murdering a Waitangirua mother at a Mongrel Mob headquarters yesterday morning made a brief appearance in Porirua District Court today.
The 35-year-old Whitby man, charged with the murder of 33-year-old Bronwyn Aroha Whakaneke, was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody until later this month.
The appearance caused a stir outside the courtroom, when a female supporter of the accused lashed out at waiting reporters, hitting a cameraman.
Emergency services were called to the Commerce Crescent headquarters about 5am yesterday.
Ms Whakaneke was found dead, partially clad, lying outside near a derelict bus which sits on the property.
A post mortem showed she died as a result of blows from a blunt instrument.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam would not comment on what the weapon was when he spoke to reporters today.
He said Ms Whakaneke, a mother of two teenage girls, came from a "well respected, good family" from Waitangirua.
Her parents were "absolutely devastated" by their daughter's death. The grandparents have been caring for the two girls for some time.
Mr Oxnam did not want to comment on the relationship of Ms Whakaneke to her accused killer, or on whether the accused was a gang member.
However, he confirmed Ms Whakaneke was associated with the Mongrel Mob.
The accused was walked in handcuffs to the court by a sole policeman. A small man, with short cropped hair and dressed in black, he stared straight ahead of him as he walked the short distance from the police station to the court, turning only once when his name was called by a man across the street.
In court, he stood with his arms crossed in the dock staring fixedly at Judge Mike Behrens.
He made a hand signal as he left the dock, and a woman in the front row called out "I still love you".
The woman then walked out of the court into a crowd of waiting media. In response to questions from reporters, the woman first chased a reporter down the steps before lashing out angrily at a cameraman.
Another woman in a waiting car called for calm, and the tense scene soon dissipated.
The Mongrel Mob headquarters, a desolate building surrounded by old vehicles and enclosed by a high corrugated iron fence, was quiet today. A police cordon, and presence, still remains around the gate, and a large tent has been erected at the entrance.
A tarpaulin has been placed over the bus near where Ms Whakaneke's body was found. The bus was formerly used as a panel beater's workshop.
Ms Whakaneke's uncle sat in court to see the face of her alleged killer.
Her body was to be taken to Maraeroa marae, in Waitangirua, today.
- NZPA
