The man charged with the murder of 14-month-old Mereana Clements-Matete was remanded in custody and granted name suppression when he appeared in the Palmerston North District Court this afternoon.
Police had earlier said the 24-year-old Palmerston North man was known to the baby.
The accused entered no plea this afternoon, and was scheduled to reappear in court on January 25.
Mereana's sudden death at Palmerston North hospital's emergency department on December 22 became a homicide investigation that spread over the Christmas-New Year holiday.
Preliminary autopsy results indicated Mereana, whose full name is Mereana Wairakau Karoline Ponamu Clements-Matete, died from internal injuries.
Detectives, scientists and police forensic staff examined the house where Mereana lived in the Palmerston North suburb of Westbrook.
- NZPA
Name suppression for man accused of baby murder
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