A homicide investigation is underway following the death of a woman in Glen Eden last night.
Video / Michael Craig
Tupaea Kerr, 33, is accused of stabbing his ex-partner Charlie Josephine Watson to death on November 3.
Kerr entered a not guilty plea, with a three-week trial scheduled for April 2026.
Watson’s family wept during Kerr’s first court appearance in the High Court at Auckland.
A man accused of stabbing his ex-partner to death in West Auckland earlier this month can now be identified.
Name suppression lapsed today for Māngere orchard worker Tupaea Kerr, 33, as he appeared in the High Court at Auckland for the first time on the murder charge.
The family of Charlie Josephine Watson, who died on November 3, wept during the short administrative hearing.
A not guilty plea was entered on Kerr’s behalf by Whangārei-based defence lawyer Arthur Fairley, who appeared via audio-video feed.
Justice Mathew Downs scheduled a three-week trial for April 2026.
Tupaea Kerr appears in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday. Photo / Michael Craig
Police were called to a family harm incident at a Brandon Rd property in Glen Eden at 11.08pm on November 3, Waitemata CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Kim Libby previously told the media. Upon arrival, they found a woman with multiple stab wounds.
The woman died a short time later after she was rushed to hospital.
“Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and we are providing them with support at this tragic time,” Libby said at the time.
A neighbour told the Herald he heard a man and a woman arguing about 30 minutes before he heard a man screaming for help from the same property.
“Help me, I don’t know what to do!” the neighbour recalled the man yelling as he spoke to emergency responders over the phone.
Police attend the scene of a serious incident on Brandon Rd in Glen Eden. Tupaea Kerr has been charged with murder. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Kerr’s first court appearance earlier this month, in Waitākere District Court, was similarly short. He wore a blue boiler suit and was flanked by two police officers as his lawyer again appeared via audio-visual link.
He was remanded back into custody at the end of both hearings.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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