Police continue hunt for teen murder weapon

A police hunt for a murder weapon continued in Oamaru today as a teenager was expected in court to face charges of murdering a 16-year-old boy.

Police have named the 16-year-old boy as William Peter Lewis, who was living in the Oamaru area, Detective Sergeant Malcolm Inglis said this afternoon.

Mr Inglis said police believed the murder weapon was a knife and appealed to anyone who might have seen it to call police.

The killing happened in Oamaru on Thursday night after an altercation on the corner of Thames St and Exe St between the dead youth and the youth charged with his murder. They were known to each other but were not friends.

Police were at the scene of the stabbing quickly and tried to resuscitate the dead youth but their efforts were in vain.

A 16-year-old accused was due in the Oamaru District Court today and was expected to be remanded in custody to appear again in Dunedin on Tuesday.

Mr Inglis said Children Youth and Family was organising a bed in a secure unit until he could appear again in court.

- NZPA