Massey homicide: Kanwarpal Singh, accused of murdering AUT law student Farzana Yaqubi, appears in court

The man accused of having fatally attacked 21-year-old AUT law student Farzana “Zana” Yaqubi in West Auckland late last year can now be identified as East Tamaki resident Kanwarpal Singh.

Name suppression lapsed for the 30-year-old murder defendant today as he stood before Justice Sally Fitzgerald for his first appearance in the High Court at Auckland.

Defence lawyer Paul Borich, KC, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

A trial date was set for May 2024.

Singh was arrested on December 20, one day after Yaqubi was found dead near the Waitakere Badminton Centre at about 5.45pm — spurring a large-scale investigation.

Kanwarpal Singh, accused of murdering AUT law student Farzana Yaqubi, appears in the High Court at Auckland. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Yaqubi has been described by family and friends as a top student who was on scholarship and already had a job offer. She was born in New Zealand shortly after her father arrived as a refugee from Afghanistan, fleeing Taliban persecution.

An observant Shia Muslim, she had been preparing for a religious pilgrimage to Iraq with her family.

“She was the youngest [in the family] but she was the smartest,” a family friend previously told the Herald. “The tragedy has broken everybody’s heart.”

During Singh’s first court appearance in December, at Waitakere District Court, his lawyer had asked for interim name suppression so that his parents in India could be notified of the charge.

Three sisters and two brothers of Yaqubi filled the first row of the courtroom’s gallery during the previous hearing, and screams of agony echoed in the courtroom as the defendant was shuffled out by security.

AUT law student Zana Yaqubi was found dead in Massey in December. Photo / Supplied

“You ****ing bastard!” one of the women yelled through tears.

“How could you? How could you?”

“You coward!” another sibling yelled.

The same family members quietly attended today’s brief hearing.

At the end of the hearing, Justice Sally Fitzgerald remanded Singh in custody to await trial.