KEY POINTS:
Police want the Bebo website to shut down talk about the killing of Augustine Borrell, which continues to buzz despite a judge's warning about a suppression order.
Messages on the social networking website now include a wave of support for the alleged killer, an Otahuhu 18-year-old.
They breach the court order suppressing his identity and contain material that could prejudice his chance of getting a fair trial.
Teenagers began discussing the killing on Bebo within hours of Augustine being stabbed in Herne Bay on Saturday night.
His friends used Bebo to confront the accused as early as Sunday. This elicited a response from him. An online "lynch-mob" of hatemail followed on Monday and he handed himself in on Tuesday.
The accused's family yesterday told the Weekend Herald of concerns for their safety because of the "retaliatory" tone of some Bebo postings. The officer in charge of the case, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Breach, said police had approached Bebo's US head office to see if it could stop them.
Mr Breach conceded there could be difficulties in enforcing the order given it was not an NZ company, but he understood Bebo to be "pro-police". He had not yet heard back.
Police did not want to track down individual users, just to get discussion to cease.
"This kind of disclosure on the internet is a new one for me - this is life in 2007."
Bebo has not replied to Weekend Herald queries first made on Tuesday. It does co-operate with New Zealand authorities on "serious criminal matters" but it is unclear whether that would cover circulating material that could prejudice a trial.
Herald technology writer Peter Griffin said the viral nature of social networking services meant it was futile for the police to try to block conversations because once they were on the web, they were there for good.
