More charges for sex worker murder-accused

A man charged with the murder of a Christchurch sex worker now faces charges of abducting and raping another woman four days earlier.

Five charges were before the court when the 28-year-old man appeared before Judge Philip Moran in Christchurch District Court today.

He is charged with raping, murdering, and kidnapping a 24-year-old sex worker, whose name is suppressed, on December 15. Her name was suppressed until today's hearing, although it was later resuppressed.

He is also charged with abducting another woman for sex and raping her on December 11 at Christchurch.

The name of the unemployed man, who has no fixed address, remains suppressed.

The court hearing was quiet today, in contrast to the man's appearance soon after his arrest, when women screamed at him from the back of the court. On that occasion, he was remanded for a fortnight in custody for a psychiatric report.

The police will allege he ran down the woman in central Christchurch and killed her before she was put in the Avon River with her wrists bound. Her body was found in the river in Dallington later that day.

Defence counsel Bridget Ayrey requested a further remand so that the psychiatric report could be completed and sought the continuation of the name suppression.

"Because the report is not completed even in a preliminary way, I seek continuation of the interim order until the date of the pre-depositions conference," she said. That conference will be on March 2.

Judge Moran asked the police for confirmation that the alleged murder victim's family no longer sought suppression of her name. Prosecutor Sergeant Paul Brocas read to the court a letter from the officer in charge stating that the victim's details could now be released. He confirmed the police had consulted the family on the matter.

The judge granted the man's name suppression until March 2, but made an order allowing publication of the woman's name. This was later changed.

"The victim's family no longer seek suppression of her name, and given the public interest in this case and the serious charges and the fact that the victim is dead, her name may now be published," he said.

- NZPA