An 18-year-old woman breaks down as she tells a jury she hadn't intended to kill retired Opotiki teacher John Rowe, only knock him out, then steal from him.

A judge has named a man accused of killing a Bay of Plenty regional councillor and school principal.

Australian police say they are unhappy at having to take on "low-lifes who are foreign nationals".

As teenager is facing up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to helping a close friend take his own life.

The partner of the Napier siege gunman received nearly $10,000 in ACC compensation after he committed suicide.

A senior judge has vowed to crack down on a violent crime wave, which he says is sometimes "little more than sheer sadism".

A man has been charged with assault and police have launched a homicide inquiry after a man died in Queenstown overnight.

A teen who brutally attacked war veteran Eric Brady, 85, had days earlier held a knife to the stomach of a Queen's Service Medal holder and stolen his car, it was revealed yesterday.

A mother who beat her 10-year-old child up to 15 times with a piece of hosepipe for wagging school has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.