Police make arrest in Ariki Rigby homicide investigation, man charged with murder

Tuesday, 17 September 2024

A 32-year-old man was arrested in Favona charged with murder and arson, in relation to the car that Ariki’s remains were found in. The man will be appearing in Manukau District Court on Wednesday.

Ariki Rigby, 18, was found dead in a burned out car near Havelock North on September 5, 2022

Police have been investigating her homicide for two years.

On Tuesday police arrested a 32-year-old man in Auckland.

Police have arrested a man in connection with the death of Hawke’s Bay teenager Ariki Rigby, two years after her death.

Detective Inspector Dave de Lange said the 32-year-old man – who was living in Hawke’s Bay at the time of Ariki’s death – was arrested in Favona today and charged with murder and arson, in relation to the car that Ariki’s remains were found in.

De Lange said the man would be appearing in Manukau District Court on Wednesday and police would be seeking a remand in custody without plea, for the charges to be transferred to Napier District Court.

“Police have informed Ariki’s whānau that an arrest has been made,” de Lange said.

“While they are very pleased that someone is being held to account for Ariki’s death, it doesn’t lessen the hurt and pain they have at the loss of Ariki, who would have turned 21 later this month,” he said.

The body of Ariki Rigby, 18, was found in a car that had been set alight in a secluded car park beside the Tukituki River near Havelock North.

Rigby’s body was found in a burnt out car in a car park beside the Tukituki River on the outskirts of Havelock North on September 5, 2022.

The mid-90s dark grey Toyota Corona was first spotted two days prior.

Police investigating the brutal murder of Ariki Rigby in the Hawke's Bay have made a fresh appeal for information as they begin a third year hunting for those responsible.

Police officers called to inspect the car had wrongly concluded that burned remains visible inside were those of a sheep.

It wasn’t until a man walking a dog took a closer look that they were discovered to be human remains.

Rigby was formally identified and a homicide investigation was launched.

Earlier this month, on the two year anniversary of Rigby’s death, police released a statement in which they “acknowledge Ariki’s whānau and friends on what is an extremely difficult day, and our thoughts remain with them as they continue on the journey of life without Ariki by their side”.

Police examine the River Rd carpark, on the outskirts of Havelock North, where Ariki Rigby's body was found in a torched, abandoned vehicle.

Detective Senior Sergeant James Keene said police remained committed to holding those responsible to account, and “over the last two years, a dedicated investigation team with a wealth of experience has worked tirelessly on this case, reviewing hundreds of hours of footage, and assessing every piece of information police receive in relation to Ariki’s death”.

“Her life was taken far too soon, in unfathomable circumstances,” he said.

“People will be out there who know what happened to Ariki, and we urge them to do the right thing,” Keene said.

About 700 people attended Ariki Rigby’s funeral on September 16, 2022.

Rigby’s family also released a statement on the two-year anniversary.

“It has been two years since we lost Ariki, and the hurt is still there. We don’t wish this feeling upon anyone. She had her whole life ahead of her and was taken from us far too soon,” they said.

“People out there know who is responsible for her death, and now is the time more than ever to break the silence and talk to Police”.

“Ariki would have turned 21 later this month and instead of celebrating with her, we are left holding onto the memory of our beautiful girl who we wish dearly was still with us today,” they said.

Rigby’s body was discovered by Kevin Monrad, who was walking his dog on September 5, 2022.

Before Rigby’s funeral her whānau put out a statement saying ‘it is a tragedy what has happened that has not only impacted our family but the community and New Zealand. Our girl Ariki was beautiful, energetic, bright eyed and lived life full throttle. She will be forever loved and missed’.

Speaking to Stuff the following day, Monrad said he’d noticed a burnt-out car with police tape around it. Initially he thought little of it, but as he got closer he noticed what appeared to be a corpse behind the driver seat.

“I didn't know what it was at first. The entire car was burnt to bare metal except for this figure in the car,” Monrad said.

But on closer inspection, he was convinced it was the body of a woman.

A memorial formed in the days following Rigby’s death at the site her body was found in a burnt out car.

He yelled out to another dog walker. The person told him it had been there since Saturday and corpse was in fact a dog, but Monrad was not convinced.

“I was 100% it was a body and straight away rung the police.”

When police arrived, Monrad said they told him they were aware of the car and what they said was a sheep.

“I lost it, and said, 'Does a sheep have shoulder-length hair? Does a sheep wear a necklace?'.”

The following day police confirmed the phone call was not the first time they had been called to the burnt-out car.

The vehicle was initially reported to police about 10am on Saturday, September 3, police said in a statement at the time. It was believed to have been dumped at the site and set alight sometime overnight on Friday.

The statement said due to the condition of the vehicle and debris from the fire, police “did not immediately identify that human remains were in the cabin of the car” when staff attended.

It was only when police were again called to the scene two days later that a “subsequent inspection” revealed “suspected human remains”.