Two men beat a former friend to death before they set his house on fire and pretended to rescue the man lying dead inside, the Crown says.

Wiremu Arapo’s body was found with blunt force trauma wounds to his head. Toxicology tests suggest the 27-year-old personal trainer was dead before the fire started.

The Crown says Sean Andrew Hayde and Gregory David Hart murdered Arapo. The pair have pleaded not guilty and are on trial at the High Court in Auckland.

They have also pleaded not guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice by setting fire to the Cockle Bay house.

A young LGBTQ rights activist who was filmed punching a 71-year-old woman in the head during the heated Posie Parker counter-protest in Auckland this year has pleaded guilty to assault.

The 21-year-old Gisborne resident, who continues to have interim name suppression, appeared in Auckland District Court today.

Judge Debra Bell granted defence lawyer Emma Priest’s request to not yet enter a conviction until sentencing. A date for that hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The victim, who did not attend today’s hearing, told the Herald she was pleased to hear about the guilty plea.

Opinion

Crime is drawing a great deal of debate in this election year.

Crime is a problem in New Zealand, likely an increasing one. People agree about wanting to reduce or stop crime. The divergence in opinions comes with regard to how we can achieve that.

An underlying theme from some quarters is that if we were “tougher on crime”, that would somehow reduce it. This is proven not to be true.

National leader Christopher Luxon’s justice policies started this.

The potential offer for police diversion application for the man charged after an assault of a pensioner at the Posie Parker rally in March was an administrative error and has been withdrawn.

And police have confirmed the man involved is now set for another court date.

The Herald can reveal the 20-year-old’s case will be reviewed in the Auckland District Court next month. He’s pleaded not guilty after a 71-year-old nana of six was allegedly assaulted at Albert Park.

The man first appeared in Auckland District Court on April 20 and was granted interim name suppression. It was reported he had been accepted on the police diversion scheme in the Gisborne District Court.

A business owner who fled the scene after causing the death of his formerly high-profile employee - early 2000s television star Lionel Allan - following a Friday evening of post-work drinks was berated by mourning whānau today as he was sentenced to home detention and ordered to pay $20,000 in reparations.

“Murderer!” one supporter yelled as Wiremu Gray, 42, was led by security out of the dock in the filled-to-capacity Waitākere District Court.

Gray had previously pleaded guilty to two charges: careless driving causing death, which carries a maximum punishment of three months’ imprisonment, and failure to stop and ascertain injury, which is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.

A historic central Auckland building that has continuously served as a law office for well over a century will soon be looking for new tenants.

The current lawyers at the Blackstone Chambers building on Wyndham St in central Auckland have announced they are moving one block away to Queen St offices next month and will be brandishing a new name in the process.

The group, also called Blackstone Chambers in reference to the building and its history, will soon instead be known as Augusta Chambers - a tribute to Dame Augusta Wallace, the first woman to serve as a judge in New Zealand.

Some prisoners in Aotearoa are being kept in solitary confinement for a number of months and in some cases, years with the potential to contribute to long-lasting physical and psychological effects, a new report has found

The independent Office of the Inspectorate | Te Tari Tirohia found that between October 2020 and September 2021, more than 5000 prisoners, nearly a third of the prison population at that time, had been separated from the mainstream population for a range of reasons.

“We found that many of these prisoners would likely have experienced solitary confinement and some prisoners would have experienced this for a number of months or years,” chief inspector Janis Adair said.

A young man who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties will have his bid for name suppression heard by the highest court in the land.

On Thursday, three Supreme Court Justices released their decision, agreeing to hear his case.

They found the case raises “questions of general or public importance” relating to youth justice, rehabilitation and risk, and the principles of open justice.

“Given the particular combination of circumstances, [his] case is one of those rare, and exceptional cases, where leave to appeal should be granted,” they said.

Two men accused of smuggling meth-laced beer into New Zealand, allegedly resulting in a person’s death, are now facing additional charges.

Police have identified 328 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from a raid at a warehouse in Manukau where a shipment of kombucha bottles was found alongside pallets of Honey Bear House Beer.

A man aged in his 30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, now faces three new methamphetamine importation charges and one new charge of possession of cocaine for supply. All of the charges carry a maximum possible punishment of life imprisonment.

His 40-year-old co-defendant is jointly charged with cocaine supply.

In a brief but emotional court hearing, the driver of a truck that hit Kiwi child star Lionel “Doeboy” Allan has admitted causing his death.

Allan’s boss Wiremu Gray struck the 39-year-old former actor as he was walking on a West Auckland road in September 2022, killing him on the spot.

Gray, 42, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death in the Waitākere District Court on Wednesday, meaning the case will not go to trial.