A man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Auckland woman Blessie Gotingco, who disappeared on her way home from work three days ago, Radio New Zealand reports.
The 27-year-old man is expected to appear in the North Shore District Court either late on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.
Friends of Blessie Gotingco gather at the cemetery. A blue police tent is in the background. Photo: Murielle Baker/RNZ
Late on Monday night, police cordoned off the Birkenhead-Glenfield cemetery 2km from the missing woman's home and on Tuesday morning said they had found a body there.
They believe the body is that of the 56-year-old but are yet to formally identify it. Her family have been told, and police say they are understandably devastated.
Ms Gotingco left her job at Tower Insurance in Fanshawe Street, central Auckland, on Saturday night, but never arrived at her home in Salisbury Street in the suburb of Birkdale.
Her mobile phone and shoes were later found on the roadside about 400m away from her bus stop on Birkdale Road.