KEY POINTS:
A man has been charged with murder after the body of a 35-year-old woman was found in the back of a van at a Lower Hutt house today.
Detective Sergeant Ross Levy said police were called to the house in Taita Drive at 5.15am this morning.
A 35-year-old male at the house was arrested and charged with murder and will appear in Lower Hutt District Court today.
"The female victim and male offender are known to each other and the incident is domestic related," said Mr Levy, the officer in charge of the investigation.
"The female victim and male offender have travelled to the Hutt Valley to attend a family wedding in Upper Hutt last evening."
He would not comment on the extent of injuries or the possible cause of death.
"We have only just commenced the scene examination and have yet to establish what exactly occurred between the two parties," Mr Levy said.
Police were seeking information on any sightings of a Mitsubishi Delica van, coloured blue and silver, registration number CCF392.
"We believe the offender and victim used this van to travel from the Taita Drive address to attend the wedding in Heretaunga Square, Upper Hutt, on to the Trentham Gardens and back to the Heretaunga Square address before finally arriving back in Taita Drive at approximately 4.15am this morning."
- NZPA
