No breach of suppression order on Kāpiti Coast homicide, police say

Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Police at the scene of an alleged homicide at Raumati Beach.

This story has been updated to reflect new clarification from police.

Police say they did not breach a court suppression order relating to a recent homicide case after earlier uncertainty about the order.

A statement by police on Tuesday, published as part of an ongoing investigation after a woman was found dead at a Kāpiti Coast home, disclosed details initially thought to be potentially prohibited by a court-ordered suppression, which everyone including police and media are obliged to follow.

Several media outlets named the woman - whose identity was thought to be potentially suppressed - after the police statement was issued at 3.25pm on Tuesday.

Stuff and other media alerted the police communications team to the potential breach, but they did not immediately withdraw the statement as they were seeking clarity on the suppression order.

At 3.48pm on Tuesday, police sent an email to some media outlets asking journalists to “hold fire” on the statement until they got clarification. It’s not clear if all media received that email.

Navigating the courts in New Zealand if you've been charged with an offence.

Later in the week, police said they had received clarification from the court, and that the original suppression order, which did not cover the victim’s name, had since been broadened to include it, as well as the street number of the victim’s address.

The suppression order related to an incident on Matatua Rd in Raumati Beach early on Monday morning. A woman was found dead, and a 24-year-old man was taken into custody.

That man appeared in Porirua District Court on Monday afternoon on charges of wounding the woman with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm. Further charges were being considered, police said.

According to the initial reporting by The Post, Judge Barbara Morris suppressed the names of the defendant and the dead woman, and any connection between them.

The defendant was due back in Porirua District Court in early March and was in custody in the meantime.

At the end of the short hearing family members told him they loved him, according to The Post.