A man charged with the 2008 murder of Christchurch prostitute Mellory Manning will stand trial next year.

A Haast man was sentenced to nine months' supervision and ordered to pay his former partner $500 for emotional harm after being convicted of an assault.

A woman who was allegedly assaulted by her partner while driving, was helped by good samaritans after she managed to stop her vehicle, police say.

Police have apologised to the family of Notorious B.I.G. for releasing the murdered rapper's autopsy without talking to them first.

More than 40 New Zealand religious leaders have taken a joint stand today against violence towards women or children.

More than 3500 domestic-violence reports were made to Northland police in the year to June - nearly 10 a day - but family violence experts say the problem is much bigger.

The sister of a "big, gentle, kind kid" stabbed in the face with a screwdriver in Wanganui still hopes the police will find her brother's attacker.

Members of the public have come forward with new information about the 1969 murder of Welsh hitchhiker Jennifer Beard.

Police returned bloodstained knives used in the murder of a young mum to her family - in a box with other items still covered in blood.

A German-born Auckland woman was called a Nazi and asked if she liked to stamp people "just like at Auschwitz" after she denied four men entry to a concert.

Michelle Hoffman-Tamm's tragic death after going missing on a bike ride will touch people from many walks of life, says her sister Jan Donlan.

Medical staff say it is too dangerous to operate on a teenage boy after he was stabbed in the face with a screwdriver in Wanganui - reportedly for wearing a blue hat.

Police have released a photograph of a man they believe followed a woman off a train in West Auckland and viciously assaulted her.

Gate crashers stormed a family barbecue, smashing car windows, causing three people to be hospitalised and sparking and armed offenders call-out.

A woman who fought off an attacker at an Auckland train station last night is being praised by police for her "gutsy display".