Man accused of killing baby boy appears in court

File photo / APN

Shouts of support for a 21-year-old man accused of the manslaughter of a five-month-old baby in Hastings were quickly shut down by the judge in Hastings District Court today.

Judge Russell Callander cut short the disruption as one young man gave the Mongrel Mob salute and chanted in Maori, while a woman yelled "I love you".

The display of emotion from the public gallery came hard on the heels of mayhem that erupted in Napier District Court last Wednesday, when the family of five-year-old Sahara Baker-Koro, found dead after a sexual violation in her home just before Christmas, began screaming abuse at her alleged attacker and had to be restrained by police and security staff.

The young man appearing in court in Hastings today, charged with the manslaughter of Mikara Ranui Jarius Reti in Flaxmere last Tuesday, stood handcuffed in the dock as his lawyer, Eric Forster, argued for continued suppression of his name for several more weeks. Mr Forster also asked that his client be excused from further court appearances until mid-March.

He told Judge Callander there were "significant other people who still need to be told", as the accused stood with his head bowed and his face expressionless.

"People close to the family, they need to tell their employers," he said.

Judge Callander said one week would be more than enough for people to be informed.

He remanded the accused in custody to appear in court again next Tuesday.

Afterwards, outside the courtroom and in a carpark across the road, several members of large group still hurling insults were warned by police they risked being charged with disorderly behaviour.

- NZPA