Kathleen Kawana death: Police say she was murdered in Hastings

Kathleen Kawana, photographed in 2006 after the death of one of her children. Photo / Paul Taylor

Kathleen Kawana, whose body was found near Ruatōria in 2019, was allegedly murdered more than 300km away in Hastings.

A 47-year-old man was brought in handcuffs to the Hastings District Court on Tuesday morning, charged with her murder.

Kawana went missing from her home in Tītahi Bay, Porirua in June 2019.

Her body was found on August 3 that year on a property at Ngarimu Hill, near Ruatōria, by the people who had just bought it.

A charge sheet filed in the Hastings court alleges Kathleen Lorna Kawana, 46, was murdered between June 20-22, 2019. The place she died was given as Hastings.

The distance between Hastings and Ruatōria is 360km - about a five-hour drive.

Defence counsel Eric Forster sought interim name suppression for the accused man so family members could be informed of the charge.

Judge Gordon Matenga remanded the man in custody without plea, to appear in the High Court at Napier on May 31.

The man waved to acknowledge members of a small group of supporters in the public gallery before he was led back to the courthouse cells.

He also faced two historic charges of injuring with intent.

A social media post written by a member of Kawana’s family after the arrest was announced on Monday thanked everyone who had supported them since her disappearance and death.

On the day of her tangi, family members remembered her as a “happy-go-lucky, bubbly child” and a “typical” mother “bringing her kiddies up”.

One of her children, 6-year-old Iriaka Te Rangi Maria Kawana, died in 2006.

Iriaka was pinned under a tree branch that broke during a children’s game in Lochain Park, Flaxmere, Hastings.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.