A man and a woman have been charged with the murder of a person of Indian origin, Davender Singh, in New Zealand’s Auckland city. He was found dead in a car on Thursday evening.
The 28-year-old man and the woman, aged 31, briefly appeared in the Manukau district court on Saturday morning and were jointly charged with Singh’s murder, Suff.co.nz reported. They were remanded in custody until an Auckland High Court appearance on Wednesday. Punjabi interpreters have been requested for the next appearance.
Singh, 35, of Papatoetoe suburb and his partner stopped outside the Manukau Events Centre in their car on Thursday evening. His body was found in the car outside the events centre on Norman Spencer Drive just 25 minutes later. It is believed that he died from stab wounds, police said.
The developments follow the release on Friday night of the CCTV footage as police sought public help to identify a mystery vehicle seen leaving the area around the time of the murder.
Detective inspector Dave Lynch said while police were pleased to have made early arrests, the investigation was still in its infancy. “Police are still appealing for witnesses and we ask that anyone who drove down Norman Spencer Drive between 7.20 pm and 7.45pm on Thursday night that might have seen Mr Singh’s car parked outside the Manukau Events Centre please come forward to police,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Detective inspector Dave Lynch said while police were pleased to have made early arrests, the investigation was still in its infancy. “Police are still appealing for witnesses and we ask that anyone who drove down Norman Spencer Drive between 7.20 pm and 7.45pm on Thursday night that might have seen Mr Singh’s car parked outside the Manukau Events Centre please come forward to police,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Police were also yet to recover the murder weapon, believed to be a knife. But they were satisfied that robbery was not the motive.
“We are well aware that the investigation has attracted intense interest within the Indian community and we ask that people stay patient and allow police time to work through an investigation and fact-finding process,” he added.