A British woman pleaded guilty to the murders of three men whose bodies were found dumped in ditches.

The jury in the High Court at Auckland has retired to consider its verdict in the case of two men on trial over the murder of Rae Portman.

The man accused of killing Rae Portman claims the defendant had no reason to kill her, according to his lawyer.

Two police officers accused of assaulting a woman in her Auckland home have been discharged without conviction.

Notorious child-killer Peter Holdem has had his jail term extended by three years, to at least 29 years behind bars, to make him one of New Zealand's longest serving convicts.

A former Iraqi soldier who murdered his wife in Wellington by stabbing her 55 times has had his latest appeal against his sentence turned down.

Murdered woman Rae Portman was mixed up in a "man's world" she should have stayed out of, a High Court jury heard today.

A mother of two suffered a violent attack at her Wellington home and could have lain dead for days before her body was found, police say.

A homicide investigation has been launched after the body of a 37-year-old woman, described by neighbours as "bubbly" was found in a Wellington suburb.

More than 63,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the Prime Minister to take action over the Roast Busters.

The country's top cop has conceded police could have gone public about the Roast Busters scandal earlier.

An angel on a very fast motorcycle ... that's how a friend described student Tarun Asthana who died after being assaulted in Auckland last week.

An elderly couple were assaulted and tied up in a brutal home invasion in Pukekohe last night.

Several witnesses have reported seeing a man who matches the description of a suspect wanted wanted in relation to the attack and sexual violation of an 87-year-old woman.

Hello Sailor frontman Graham Brazier will be personally monitored by a District Court judge for 18 months to ensure he exorcises his alcohol demons.

Hello Sailor frontman Graham Brazier has been sentenced to intensive supervision and community work for assaulting his former and current partners.

Mayor Len Brown says there has been progress in making central Auckland safe, but admits more needs to be done to prevent deaths like that of Tarun Asthana.

The Royal New Zealand Navy has refused to say whether sailor Grenville McFarland has been stood down from service while on bail.

A 27-year-old has appeared in court in connection with an attack on a trainee primary teacher who died in Auckland hospital this morning.

Hamilton residents are being advised to check their home security following a series of intruder incidents in the east of the city on Sunday.