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Neighbours of a 14-year-old schoolboy charged with the indecent assault and murder of Libby Templeman say his family are loving and quiet.
The boy - who police said Libby knew - appeared in the Kaikohe Youth Court yesterday, six days after she went missing.
One neighbour said the family were "very nice people".
Another said they were a loving family.
"They were always family-oriented and the kids were never out in the street fooling around or anything. They're very polite boys, very polite. They're very nice ... never rowdy."
Far North area commander Inspector Chris Scahill said Libby knew the boy, but he was not her boyfriend.
The arrest was announced at 5pm yesterday. Mr Scahill would not say when police first spoke to the boy, but said he was arrested yesterday afternoon during a pre-arranged meeting at the Kaikohe police station. The father of the boy said last night he did not wish to comment.
A police liaison officer was with the Templeman family when they were told of the arrest.
"I certainly think this is one of the more tragic cases that just about all of us in the inquiry team have worked on," Mr Scahill said.
"It's never pleasant when a young person is the subject of a homicide."
Before the arrest, police searched a house about 4km from where Libby's body was found, off Cobham Rd, alongside the Wairoa Stream in Kerikeri last Sunday evening.
They gave no details of why the house was searched or what they were looking for.
The 14-year-old has been remanded in the custody of Child, Youth and Family and will reappear at the Kaikohe Youth Court on November 17.
Libby will be farewelled today in Kerikeri. Funeral director Anthony Kiely said more than 600 people were expected.
He said Libby's parents had asked mourners to wear bright colours to reflect her personality. They want them not to wear black.
