Woman dead, baby hurt in Christmas Eve tragedy
A 40-year-old man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead at a Matamata property on Christmas Eve.
The woman’s baby was also injured during the incident and remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital.
Emergency services were called to the house, on State Highway 27, at 1pm.
The man was known to the woman and was arrested at the property, Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Ambler said in a statement.
He was to appear in the Hamilton District Court today, and further charges could be possible.
Police were still at the scene – a beige one-storey house – at midday on Christmas Day. A forensic team could be seen conducting a scene examination and a cordon was in place at the driveway.
A hospital spokeswoman said the baby was in a critical condition in ICU on Monday afternoon.
The Tauranga-based owner of the property, which is rented, said he knew nothing of the incident and he was not personally acquainted with the tenants. The property was managed by LJ Hooker in Matamata.
Matamata-Piako Mayor Jan Barnes said she first found out about the incident via the media.
‘‘All I can say is that it’s very tragic and there are no winners,’’ she said. ‘‘You don’t want to hear it at any time but it does make it doubly hard at this time of year. My heart goes out to the families.’’
Graham Bax, the director of the neighbouring Blandford Lodge stud, told Stuff he saw the Westpac Rescue Helicopter arrive at the site of the incident, which was at the rear of his property. He also saw ambulance and police vehicles shortly after the event.
‘‘There is a bit of activity going on,’’ he said around 2pm.