A Whangarei court has heard that a Kerikeri schoolgirl was bashed, strangled and left to drown in a stream by a youth, 14 at the time, who stands accused of her murder.
The youth, now 16, is on trial in the High Court at Whangarei charged with indecently assaulting and murdering 15-year-old Libby Templeman. His name has been suppressed for the duration of the trial.
Ms Templeman's partially clothed body was found in an abandoned orchard close to the centre of Kerikeri on 1 November 2008. The accused has been in the custody of Child, Youth and Family since his arrest.
In his opening address on Monday, Crown prosecutor Mike Smith said the accused had accompanied Miss Templeman as she walked home from a barbecue and then attacked her in the orchard.
Mr Smith said his actions were deliberate and intentional and amounted to murder.
More than 50 witnesses will give evidence in the trial, which is set down for nine days.
