The man accused of killing a Christchurch teen fantasised about killing a child in foster care just to say he had done it, a former partner told his murder trial today.

A man who visited the Christchurch flat the morning after Hayden Miles died says he can't forget the dead boy's face.

A judge has asked if the police were being used as a "tool" in a domestic dispute involving a public relations executive and a property developer.

Hayden Miles was a "difficult" child whose behavioural issues saw him put into foster care before he was killed, his mother told a court today.

Murder accused Gavin Gosnell asked a neighbour if he'd ever shared a room with a killer around the time teenager Hayden Miles was killed, a court heard today.

The girlfriend of the man accused of murdering Christchurch schoolboy Hayden Miles was threatened with the same fate if she told police.

The man accused of bashing teenager Hayden Miles to death also tried to break his arms and legs on the night of the attack, the alleged murderer's ex-girlfriend says.

A judge slammed New Zealand's binge drinking culture as he sentenced a promising league player to nine years in jail for a "brutal" alcohol-fuelled attack.

A 26-year-old man has been hospitalised with stab wounds after being attacked by a group of youths on Friday night.

The family of murdered teenager Emily Longley are preparing to return to London for her killer's appeal, hoping it will bring some closure to the nightmare.

A request for a cigarette ended with a Dunedin teen in hospital and a man allegedly weilding a meat cleaver in police custody.

An elderly woman has been left bruised and shaken after escaping through a window during a "cowardly" attack in her home.

An 18-year-old was stabbed in the chest in the early hours of this morning by a man who was wielding a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife.

On Thursday night, while Jesse Ryder lay in intensive care in Christchurch Hospital after a savage and apparently random beating that has left him fighting for his life, I drove home from work just after midnight.

The man charged with murdering pregnant woman Rae Portman has pleaded not guilty, and will face trial later this year.

A New Zealand man accused of a horrific attack on a sex worker in Canada could serve time in a New Zealand jail if he is convicted and extradited.

A man charged with a horrific sex attack in Canada cut off his electronic bracelet and fled New Zealand on a false passport while on bail.

A Kiwi accused of dragging a sex worker behind a van in a "horrific" attack in Canada is believed to have fled there after removing his electronic monitoring bracelet while on home detention in NZ.

The man charged with kidnapping Rae Portman was her pallbearer and bestfriend's husband.

Christine Bristol's husband killed himself and their 3 daughters, a tragedy resulting in a law protecting kids of violent relationships. A new bill could change that.

A New Zealander has been charged over the alleged abduction of a sex worker in Canada where a woman was tied up and dragged behind a van.

Road construction worker George Taiaroa who was shot dead by a passing motorist this week was farewelled by whanau and friends today.