Murder accused appears in Kaitaia Court

A 50-year-old man accused of murder has appeared in the Kaitaia District Court.

The man made a brief appearance, charged with murdering 29-year-old Joseph Rowland Keogh. He was remanded without plea, and without requesting bail, to appear in the High Court at Whangarei on April 30.

Interim name suppression was granted, without opposition from the police.

The man was arrested on Sunday morning, without incident, following Mr Keogh's death shortly after arriving at Kaitaia Hospital on Saturday night.

Police have released few details, but it is believed that Mr Keogh and another person were involved in a fight on the side of Fairburn Road.

The officer in charge of the inquiry, Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston, said Mr Keogh's injuries were believed to be the result of the altercation, but he declined to offer any detail of those injuries or whether a weapon had been involved.

Those questions would be answered by the post mortem examination, he said.