13 Apr 2015

Chest wound killed Kaitaia man

5:01 pm on 13 April 2015

Police have revealed that a young father killed in a violent encounter in the Far North at the weekend bled to death from a chest wound.

Joseph Keogh, 29, died shortly after being rushed to Kaitaia Hospital by his family on Saturday night.

A 50-year-old man, whose name is suppressed, appeared in Kaitaia District Court this morning charged with his murder.

Police say a post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Keogh died from a single puncture wound to his chest.

They said they had recovered an item from Fairburn Road, where the incident happened, which may have been used to wound Mr Keogh.

Two of Mr Keogh's children and two of his younger siblings - who police say saw the fatal attack - are being supported by family trauma specialists.

The man charged with his murder entered no plea today, but his lawyer indicated he would plead not guilty on grounds of self-defence.

He was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody for two weeks.