Three in High Court over death of Wellington man

12:28 pm on 12 February 2021

Two people charged in relation to the shooting death of a man in the Wellington suburb of Karori have been named.

18072016 Photo: Rebekah Parsons-King. Wellington High Court.

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Rau Tongia was killed on Percy Dyett Drive in the early hours of 20 December.

Shayde Weston, 24, has been charged with murder.

Phoenix Chartarn Kahurangi Colvin, 20, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, accused of hiding a firearm.

A 35-year-old woman who has also been been charged with murder retains name suppression for now.

All three pleaded not guilty in the High Court in Wellington today and are remanded in custody.

Two other people have also been charged in relation to the shooting.

The public gallery was full this morning, with extra security at the door and half a dozen police officers sitting in the public section of the court.

When Western was led away there were insults and also cries of support from the public gallery.

Security then had to step between supporters of the victim and the accused, and someone shouted "you killers".

Their trial has been set down for May next year.

Also on Friday a 27-year-old woman appeared in the Wellington District Court on charges relating to Tongia's death.

The woman is accused of being party to the killing by knowing it was going to happen and providing a vehicle for the offence to be committed, and is also charged with wounding Tongia with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

She was granted name suppression and remanded in custody until her next appearance on 5 March in the High Court in Wellington.