Man accused of smothering child with pillow after body taken to South Auckland police station

• A 37-year-old man is accused of smothering a child with a pillow in East Tamaki.
• The defendant’s and child’s names are suppressed, with a trial set for May next year.
• The defendant was remanded in custody after appearing in the High Court at Auckland.

An Auckland man charged with murder after bringing a child’s body to Manukau Police Station is accused of deliberately smothering the child with a pillow.

Far-reaching interim suppression remains in place for the case, including the names of the defendant and the child, but limited circumstances of the death can be reported for the first time.

The 37-year-old appeared in the High Court at Auckland for the first time today as Justice Mathew Downs set a trial date for May next year.

Defence lawyer Sharyn Green did not enter a plea on her client’s behalf and asked for suppression orders to continue until a hearing on the matter is held in April.

An officer guards an investigation scene outside Manukau Police Station after a dead child was discovered in a vehicle parked outside the facility. Photo / Hayden Woodward

At the end of today’s brief hearing, the defendant was remanded in custody.

Authorities previously said the defendant arrived at the South Auckland police station and spoke to officers about 1am on Monday, January 6. The child’s body was discovered a short time later in a parked car outside.

Police cordoned off a silver Nissan sedan parked in Barrowcliffe Place, directly outside the entrance.

Authorities allege the child had been killed in East Tamaki the day before, and the defendant was known to the child’s family. The child’s gender, age and ethnicity is suppressed.

During a Manukau District Court appearance on the same day as the grisly discovery, the man appeared distraught as he gestured to supporters. He has been treated at a hospital for unspecified injuries hours after his arrest.

He sat motionless in the High Court dock today as the judge and lawyers discussed his case. Media organisations, including the Herald, were granted access to take the defendant’s photo but cannot yet publish them due to the suppression order.

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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