Man appears in court charged with murder of Anaru Moana

Anaru Moana, was last seen on 20 December 2021. Photo / NZ Police

A man has appeared in court jointly charged with the murder of missing man Anaru Moana.

Moana, 37, was reported missing in December last year after he was last seen by his niece in Waimate, south of Timaru, and extensive inquiries have been carried out since then to locate him.

On Tuesday, Detective Inspector Joel Syme said two men had been charged with allegedly killing Moana.

On Wednesday, a 32-year-old man appeared in the Christchurch District Court charged with killing Moana on December 20, along with counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine for supply.

This Subaru was set alight early on December 22, two days after Anaru Moana went missing. The bonnet has yet to be found. Photo / NZ Police

Judge David Robinson granted the man interim name suppression and remanded him in custody without plea. He is next due to appear on December 6 in the High Court at Timaru.

On Tuesday, his co-accused, a 40-year-old man appeared in the Dunedin District Court charged with murder.

The man, and four others, also faces allegations of kidnap and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm from October against a different person in Oamaru.

Last week the national dive squad was called in to assist with the search for Moana.

The search of the waterways in the Waitaki area was close to where a silver Subaru was found burned out two days after Moana’s disappearance.

Syme said while police had not yet found Moana’s body, it was pleasing to have made the arrests.

“We hope that having two people charged with Anaru’s death will give some comfort to the whanau. However, we know how important locating their loved one is, so this will remain a priority focus for the team,” he said.