Man appears in court charged with murdering his relative in Pātea, South Taranaki

A 34-year-old man has appeared in New Plymouth District Court charged with murdering his relative. Photo / Tara Shaskey

Concerns about the mental fitness of a man charged with murdering his relative over the weekend have been raised in court.

Police were called to a family-harm incident at a property in South Taranaki on Saturday.

Officers located a 60-year-old man with critical injuries at the Dorset St, Pātea, address just before 9am. He was unable to be revived and died at the scene.

A 34-year-old was arrested at the property and subsequently charged with murder (stabbing/cutting weapon).

Today, the man, who cannot be named, made a brief appearance in the New Plymouth District Court flanked by a police officer.

Wearing a grey T-shirt and track pants, he looked around the courtroom as he stood quietly in the dock with his hands clasped. He nodded when the judge addressed him and gave defence lawyer Nathan Bourke a thumbs up at the close of the hearing.

Bourke, who appeared on behalf of assigned counsel Paul Keegan, submitted the issue of psychosis and insanity needed to be explored and asked for a psychiatric report to be ordered under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003.

He said the man had spoken with a forensic health nurse, and Keegan, since the alleged incident but still may not be aware of what allegedly occurred.

Bourke said the man consented to a remand in custody and asked for interim name suppression.

Judge Gregory Hikaka granted suppression, ordered the psychiatric report and imposed a non-contact order against the man in favour of “a list of people”.

He was remanded into custody ahead of his next appearance on September 6.

An earlier police statement said the investigation was still in its early stages and that a scene examination was under way and expected to conclude today.

Police still want to hear from anyone with information relevant to the incident by calling 105 and quoting file number 240825/6995.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.