A man appeared in Christchurch District Court on Friday on a murder charge, in a case that police originally classified as not suspicious.
Nikki Roper, 22, is charged with the murder of Alexis Maria Tovizi, 21, as well as the theft of her vehicle and laptop, and the unlawful use of her eftpos card.
Police have issued a statement which says that although the case did not seem suspicious at first, their inquiries continued and subsequently an arrest was made.
Mr Roper entered no plea and did not apply for bail.
He was remanded in custody and will appear again in court on 18 February.
