28 Dec 2008

Man due in court on murder charge

2:13 pm on 28 December 2008

A man will appear in the Kaikohe District Court on Monday on a charge of murdering a Kerikeri child.

Police arrested the man, 21, a beneficiary, on Saturday night. He will also face a number of drug-related charges.

Riley Justin Osborne, aged 16 months, died on Tuesday after being transported to Starship Hospital in Auckland on 19 December.

Post mortem results issued on Sunday show that he died as a result of significant head injuries which left him blind and brain damaged.

He lived with his mother, aged 22, her partner and a family friend in a unit at 31 Cobham Road in Kerikeri.