Ariki Rigby. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Two men, one accused of murdering an 18-year-old found in a burned-out car in Hawke's Bay, have been given a trial date.
Ariki Rigby's body was found in a dark grey Toyota Corona in River Road Reserve near Havelock North in September 2022, during an unplanned holiday to see her father and stepmother.
Two men will stand trial at the High Court in Napier on 3 November 2025, with the case being set down for three weeks.
A 32-year-old man has been charged with her murder and with arson, and a 29-year-old man with being a party to arson. Both had name suppression for the time being.
The public gallery was packed with family members at the High Court in Napier on Friday, and Judge Karen Grau asked them to be respectful of the court process.
"Emotions are very raw, but I will ask you to be calm," she said.
When Rigby died, police failed to realise there was a dead body in the burned-out car when they first checked on it. Officers visited the car after a caller told police on 3 September, 2022, that they thought they had seen the body of an animal on the floor in the back of the vehicle, but the body was not discovered until 5 September.
At the time of Rigby's funeral, a family spokesperson said she was a beautiful, passionate person, who lived life at "full throttle".