29 Jan 2009

Charges follow two separate fatal stabbings

6:03 am on 29 January 2009

A man has been charged with murder after the fatal stabbing of a woman in Dunedin on Monday night.

Moana Anahera Marie Aranui, 21, died after being struck many times, with a wound to the heart proving fatal.

The charged man, aged 50, is recovering in Dunedin Hospital from stab wounds said by police to be self-inflicted.

He will appear before a Justice of the Peace in a makeshift courtroom at the hospital at 11am Thursday.

Arrest after stabbing outside hotel

Meanwhile, a gang associate has been arrested in connection with the death of a Central Hawke's Bay contractor.

Mark McCutcheon, 34, was fatally stabbed last Friday night after intervening in a dispute outside the Sandford Arms hotel in the township of Ongaonga.

Hastings CIB head Dave de Lange says Mr McCutcheon was trying to stop a patched gang member from beating up a woman.

He says a Waipukurau man, 22, has been charged with assaulting Mr McCutcheon and further charges are likely.

The man has appeared in the Hastings District Court and been remanded in custody until a further court appearance next week.

A patched gang member, 26, has been charged with assaulting a female.