Police are now treating the death of a man whose body was discovered in an Ashburton pond on Sunday as unexplained.
On Tuesday, police said that Arran Gairns' death was a drowning and not suspicious, but further inquiries later that day resulted in a woman being arrested.
The 26-year-old from Wellington appeared in the Timaru District Court on Wednesday morning charged with assaulting the 34-year-old with intent to rob, the day before his body was found in an industrial park.
She entered no plea and was remanded on bail to reappear at the Ashburton District Court in three weeks.
Officers are looking for other people who may have been involved in events leading up to Mr Gairns' death.
