4 Mar 2023

Beach Haven road fatal attack: 'It was absolutely awful' - witness shields body with tarpaulin

8:00 pm on 4 March 2023
Flowers on Beach Haven Road in Auckland where a fatal incident took place.

Flowers on Beachhaven Road in Auckland where a fatal incident took place. Photo: RNZ / Jonty Dine

Police have charged a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old with murder over a fatal assault in the Auckland suburb of Beach Haven.

In a statement, Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said a driver was fatally injured during an altercation on Friday night between the occupants of two vehicles.

Inquiries led police to the Far North, where two boys were arrested early this morning, he said.

They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear in the North Shore Youth Court on Monday.

McNeill said officers located a BMW sedan, wanted in relation to the attack, in nearby Glenfield today.

Officers were not looking for anyone else, he said.

But they are are appealing for any witnesses to come forward, particularly if they have CCTV or dash camera footage showing a black BMW on or near Tramway and Rangatira roads in Beach Haven, and Roberts Road in Glenfield, between 6pm and 9pm on Friday.

A woman who helped after the attack earlier told RNZ she used a tarpaulin to shield the dying man from the public and to stop her children seeing the tragedy.

The woman said she and her family felt traumatised by the attack and watching the victim die.

Another local resident said he no longer felt safe in the area.

He said violence was the last straw for him, and he will now move into a retirement home, three years earlier than planned.

Vehicle marks on Beachhaven Road where a fatal incident took place.

Vehicle marks on Beachhaven Road where a fatal incident took place. Photo: RNZ / Jonty Dine