Shooting death

A man has been charged with murder after an elderly man was shot dead in Taranaki. Police were called to a rural address near Eltham about 7pm on Tuesday where a 78-year-old man was seriously injured and subsequently died at the scene. A 68-year-old man was arrested and had been charged with murder, Detective Senior Sergeant Philip Skoglund said. Skoglund said the accused and the dead man were believed to have known each other.

Dengue fever

A 12-year-old Auckland girl died of dengue fever while on a family trip to Tonga on January 24. Toafei Telefoni’s funeral was held in south Auckland last week. Her uncle, Kinga Langi, said that when Toafei complained that her body was heating up, her parents took her to the local hospital. However, all she was given was a pill to prevent her from vomiting, according to Langi. Toafei’s relatives took her to Vaiola hospital in Tonga four times, Langi said. ‘‘They did not [diagnose dengue] until the fourth time,’’ Langi said. ‘‘But it was too late.’’

Victim left at hospital

The man accused of murdering a man who was left at Tauranga Hospital with critical injuries on January 3 has pleaded not guilty. Colin Richard Jeffries-smith, 26, is accused of the murder of Lance Wayne Waite, 58, who suffered critical injuries and died that same day. The death prompted police and armed offenders squad raids in Gate Pa. Jeffries-smith entered a plea of not guilty to the charge via his lawyer at the High Court in Rotorua on Wednesday and was remanded in custody. A trial date has been set for February 11, 2019.

Fires wreck houses

The Naenae community in Wellington is rallying around a family whose home was lost in a fire on Tuesday evening. A neighbour has been helping co-ordinate donations for the family, who she said had ‘‘lost everything’’. And a couple who also lost everything on Wednesday morning in a Paeka¯ka¯riki house fire have spoken about running through a maze of smoke and flames, and carrying their child to safety, on the Ka¯piti Coast north of Wellington. With a guest, all four had to navigate thick dark smoke about 5am to get outside. They had lived in the house for about 12 years, and were close to completing an ongoing renovation.

Homicide inquiry

The death of a woman at a Hamilton home is now being treated as homicide. Aroha Kiwara, 28, was found dead on Sunday. The scene examination and post mortem had been completed and police were now treating the death as a homicide, Detective Sergeant Andrew Saunders said. On Sunday, neighbours said two boys, aged 10 and 8, lived at the address with their mother. The neighbours saw police lead a man away from the house on Sunday.