Man arrested after knife attack

The knife blade travelled across Esley James' face

Police have arrested the fugitive who allegedly left a broken knife embedded in another man's face.

North Shore police confirmed last night they had located 31-year-old Vance Paraki Tuheke at a house in Ruawai and he had been arrested without incident. The man's estranged partner Elisha Brett and their 2-year-old son were also at the house with Tuheke.

Police said Tuheke would appear in court on Monday. Further charges were likely.

Last night family members refused to comment about the arrest, saying they were waiting for a magazine deal.

Tuheke fled from a house in Albany, on Auckland's North Shore, on Friday morning after allegedly stabbing Woosh internet salesman Esley Aaron James with a 15cm knife. Mr James had been visiting Brett when he was stabbed, the blade entering his face just below his left eye.

Tuheke then fled with his former partner and the child.

On Friday surgeons removed the knife embedded in Mr James' face during a delicate operation at Auckland Hospital, saying the 36-year-old was expected to make a full recovery with no lasting damage. Police interviewed him yesterday.

Mr James' partner, who wanted to be referred to only as Katie, yesterday expressed her anger at the attack. She had spent the day with Mr James at his bedside and told the Herald on Sunday she was "furious" about what had happened.

She had no idea what the motive for the attack may have been, saying her partner did not know Tuheke.

One of the first people on the scene after the attack also spoke yesterday of how he used a towel to help mop up the man's blood.

"All I could see was a knife hanging out of his head, I didn't have much time to think," said the man who asked not to be named.

Tuheke had lived at Brett's Albany home until four weeks ago.

"It was an on-and-off type of relationship, very dysfunctional," the neighbour said. He said he did not know the pair well but often heard "domestic noise".

The neighbour said his family had found the incident so traumatic that they would be packing up and leaving soon. "Who knows what the aftershock will be?"

Mr James' father travelled from Wellington to be with his son yesterday but refused to comment.