Weymouth toddler's death: Two defendants plead not guilty through their lawyers

A man and a woman charged over the death of 2-year-old Arapera Moana Aroha Fia pleaded not guilty through their lawyers Tuesday morning during their first appearance hearing at Manukau District Court.

The 21-year-old Māngere resident has been charged with murder, while a 21-year-old woman from Weymouth has been accused of manslaughter.

Judge Ajit Swaran Singh granted interim name suppression for both co-defendants due to some family members not yet knowing about the charges.

Both defendants were excused from appearing in person due to unspecified Covid-19 issues. They have been remanded into custody to await their next hearing, set for next month at the High Court at Auckland. The name suppression decision is likely to be revisited at that time.

Both charges could potentially carry sentences of up to life in prison, if the two are convicted.

Arapera died at Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland on October 31, hours after she was found with critical injuries at a home in Weymouth.

Police announced soon after the child's death that they suspected her injuries to be non-accidental. The case was investigated for about two weeks before the two defendants were arrested last night.

Two-year-old Arapera Fia. Photo / Supplied

No one else is being sought for the death, Detective Inspector Warrick Adkin said.

"Investigations involving the suspicious deaths of children have a profound effect on the whānau and our wider community," Adkin said. "Often these investigations can be impeded by members of the whānau failing to come forward with information or co-operating with police."

He commended family members who co-operated with police in the investigation, as well as others in the community who came forward.

"We all have a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable to prevent these tragedies," he said.

Arapera has been described by people who knew her as a "sweet, beautiful lil girl".

"You'll always be dad's princess," her father, who is not a suspect in the case, wrote in a social media tribute earlier this month. "I've felt pain before but this pain, this pain I have never felt.

"It's getting harder and harder every day realising that this isn't just one bad dream."