Latest from Assault and Homicide

'Person of interest' interviewed in burnt-woman case
Police investigating the murder of South Auckland woman Ranjeeta Sharma have confirmed they have interviewed a "person of interest" in Fiji.

Attack prolonged and ferocious - police
A brutal attack which left a south Auckland man brain dead and on life support was prolonged and ferocious, say police.

Man injured in attack not expected to live
Life support is expected to be turned off for a man critically injured when he and a woman were attacked with a wooden club.

Woman shot dead: Boy, 15, bailed
A 15-year-old has been released into his parents' care after he allegedly shot dead a friend while playing with a gun.

Waikato police focus on Sharma's son
Police say they are focusing on the welfare of motherless four-year-old Akash Sharma, while they decide whether to extradite his father back to NZ.

Teen charged after woman, 20, fatally shot
The fatal shooting of a woman in Northland last night is a tragic reminder of how dangerous guns can be, say police.

Murderer lays charges against witnesses
Convicted murderer Stephen Hudson has filed private prosecutions against witnesses who gave evidence against him.

Burnt-alive suspect expected to be a priest
The husband of an Auckland woman burnt to death is the son of a Hindu high priest and was nearly deported from NZ for overstaying.

Burnt woman's uncle 'very shocked'
The family of a young mother burnt to death in the Waikato have been stunned by her death. Police today confirmed they had tracked down her husband Diwesh Sharma in Fiji, after help from the local Fijian community.

Husband, son of burnt mother found
The husband and son of a young mother burnt alive on the side of a rural road near Huntly have been found in Fiji. NZ Police said the boy was found when Fijian police located his father.

Fiji police silent on custody reports
Fiji police have refused to confirm that a man wanted in connection with the death of his wife near Huntly last week has been caught.

Man accused of killing 5-month-old named
Name suppression for a 21-year-old Hastings man charged with killing a five-month-old baby was lifted in court today.

Burnt mother's misery
A young mother left burning to death on a rural road was in a violent marriage to a man now the focus of an international manhunt.

Police use Interpol to track burn victim's husband
Police have launched an international search to find the husband of a woman burned to death by the side of a Waikato road last week, after he flew to Fiji with their four-year-old son the day after her body was found.

Husband of burned woman sought
The husband of a woman found burned to death next to a Huntly road last week fled overseas with the couple's four-year-old son the day after her body was found, say police.

Woman who burned to death named
Police have identified the woman found burned to death next to a Huntly road and say her husband - who left NZ with their son on Friday - is a person of 'considerable interest' to their investigation.

Boy helps in rescue of abducted woman
A 9-year-old boy helped rescue Nortessa Montgomerie yesterday, 36 hours after she was abducted on Great Barrier Island.

Mother's fear for Dubai son
As Toby Carroll begins his 49th day in a Dubai prison, his family fear his property career could already be ruined.

Rape victim faces her demon
One of the country's most notorious killers has told one of his victims what she has waited nearly 15 years to hear.