A 25-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of two men in a south Auckland pawn shop.
Paul Fanning, who was 69, and 47-year-old Paul Matthews were attacked and killed at the Ezy Cash store in Takanini on Saturday.
On Monday morning, a man appeared in Papakura District Court charged with two counts of murder by stabbing with a weapon.
About 30 family members of both the victims and the defendant were in court, some crying as the man was brought into the courtroom.
Name suppression for the accused was supposed to lapse at 4pm on Monday. However, an application to extend it was made about 3pm and granted a few minutes before the original order lapsed.
The man has been remanded in custody until early in August, when the suppression order would be revisited.
Police said a woman seen leaving the Ezy Cash store with the man is helping them with their inquiries and is being treated as a witness.
