Alleged Māngere Bridge murderer: 'She was off seeing someone', police claim

One woman died in the carpark of Oji Fibre Solutions in Māngere Bridge and two others were seriously injured. Photo / File

Police claim a man accused of stabbing his ex-wife told them he was working overtime while she was off seeing someone else.

Soafa Niumagumagu is on trial at the High Court in Auckland for the attempted murder of Puapuaga Matamua, the murder of a woman who rushed to Matamua's aid - Sagaia Kaisala - and assault with a weapon against Abdul Riyaz.

Sagaia Kaisala, 32, was allegedly murdered by Soafa Niumagumagu. Photo / Supplied

All three worked together at Oji Fibre Solutions, a packaging factory, in Māngere Bridge on the day of the incident in June 2019.

The Crown alleges Niumagumagu stabbed Matamua multiple times in the carpark after she left him for another man days earlier, and then hit two people with his car. One died at the scene.

A Counties Manukau detective in the major crimes unit, Shannon Barnett, said he spoke with Niumagumagu while he was in custody.

He told Niumagumagu his ex-wife was discharged from hospital, but another woman had died.

"He stopped and looked at me and said: 'I don't know what happened, I didn't mean for that'," Barnett told the jury.

"He said to me: 'You know, she was off seeing someone, I was working hard doing all this overtime and she was off seeing him'," Barnett said.

Niumagumagu confirmed to officers that a knife object they found in his car was used to stab his former wife, Barnett claims.

The jury has been shown CCTV footage from the day the alleged murder took place from four cameras around Auckland.

Officer in charge of obtaining CCTV footage Wayne Mead said a car was seen badly damaged with the exhaust hanging down, dragging on the ground, on Mahunga Drive.

A man wearing a hi-vis vest was seen leaving the car and walking to the Māngere Town Centre and getting into a taxi.