16 Mar 2009

Police praise workers who tackled murder-accused

2:17 pm on 16 March 2009

Police have commended two McDonald's workers who tackled a man who was later charged with murdering a woman at a service station north of Wellington.

Police found the woman with serious injuries on the forecourt of a Mobil service station in Johnsonville just before midnight on Saturday. Despite medical efforts by both ambulance and fire service staff, the woman died at the scene.

Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Borrell told Morning Report the two workers who grabbed the man showed real bravery. He said police are reviewing CCTV footage of the service station's forecourt.

A 48-year-old Porirua man appeared in the Wellington District Court on Monday and was remanded in custody until the end of April. The man has name suppression until 23 March.

His family was in the public gallery and yelled "We love you" and other messages of support.