Jayden Mamfredos-Nair homicide: Trio enter not guilty pleas during first High Court appearance

A 2025 trial date has been set for three Auckland men jointly charged with the murder of teen Jayden Mamfredos-Nair, who vanished in April last year.

The men - a 26-year-old Dairy Flat resident, a 26-year-old Bayview resident and a 20-year-old Swanson resident - appeared together in the dock at the High Court at Auckland for the first time today for a brief administrative hearing.

During the hearing, not guilty pleas were entered on their behalves and their lawyers indicated they intend to ask for name suppression to continue.

Justice Mathew Downs set a five-week trial date for October next year.

Mamfredos-Nair, 19, was last seen at Birdwood Reserve in Rānui, West Auckland on April 21, 2023. Police launched a homicide investigation in August and scoured a Dairy Flat, North Auckland property in October.

Police spent months trying to solve the disappearance of West Auckland teenager Jayden Mamfredos-Nair. Photo / NZ Police

But his disappearance remained unresolved for nine months before authorities found his remains last month in Dairy Flat.

Court documents allege he was killed in Orewa.

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.