Woman charged with murder of girl, 3

A woman has been charged with the murder of a three-year-old girl at Marton last month.

Cherish Tahuri-Wright died at Wellington Hospital on February 19, two days after being found with head injuries at a house in Ahuru Street, Marton.

A 56-year-old Marton woman had been charged with murder and would appear in Wanganui District Court today, police said.

The parents of the dead girl had been told of the charges.

A team of about 20 officers had been working on the investigation and this had been scaled down to two officers who will oversee the remaining enquiries and the prosecution.

Cherish was found by police when they were called to her grandparents' house at 12.15pm on February 17.

She was initially airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital and was later transferred to Wellington Hospital.

Cherish, whose parents live in Porirua, had been living with her grandparents in Marton for a few weeks.

- NZPA