File photo. Photo:
A man accused of murder received death threats from upset members of the public gallery as he stood in the dock at the High Court in Hamilton this morning.
The commotion caused the hearing for Aaron Nicholas Wilson to be paused as security guards tried to control the outbursts from whānau who had filed into the court to witness Wilson's appearance.
Wilson today lost name suppression.
The 42-year-old is charged with murdering Betty Maree Paparoa in Cambridge on 8 August, whose body was found by police at 1.20am that day at a Richmond St property.
The discovery of the body resulted in a manhunt 50km away in Te Aroha, where streets were closed and cars were searched before Wilson was arrested later that same day.
In the court today Wilson remained impassive in the dock as abuse was shouted at him.
"You're a f****n dead man walking," one young man said.
A woman screamed about the alleged victim's children and another man was escorted out by security guards as he swore at them not to touch him.
Justice Graham Lang, who was presiding over the hearing via audio visual link, asked for calm and ordered the removal of any of the 20-plus members of the gallery who could not be quiet.
Wilson was remanded in custody until 4 October while the court awaits a Section 38 report under the Criminally Mentally Impaired Persons Act to assess whether he is fit to stand trial.
A tentative trial date was set down for two weeks from November 27 next year.
- This story originally appeared on the NZ Herald website.