Police are trying to track down a woman they believe witnessed an altercation in Kawakawa linked to the killing of a man in Ōpua an hour later.
Bram Willems, 22, of Ōkaihau, died after being stabbed around 11pm last Thursday on State Highway 11 about 200m south of the Roadrunner Tavern.
A 14-year-old boy arrested that night appeared in the Youth Court at Whangārei on Friday charged with murder.
Police still piecing together the night's tragic events say it was preceded by an altercation outside the Work and Income office on Kawakawa's about 10pm that same evening.
CCTV footage shows a woman, who police have not yet been able to identify, witnessed the Kawakawa incident.