The man charged with aggravated robbery and the murder of an Auckland dairy worker has been granted interim name suppression during his first court appearance.
On Friday, police arrested and charged a man over the fatal stabbing of a dairy worker Janak Patel in Auckland's Sandringham.
On Wednesday night, a man in dark clothing and a bandana took the cash register drawer from Rose Cottage Superette. When worker Janak Patel followed him, he was stabbed multiple times in the street and died shortly afterwards.
A major manhunt was launched by police and on Friday a 34-year-old man was arrested at a New Lynn address and charged with both aggravated robbery and Patel's murder.
A 42-year-old man has also been charged with robbery in relation to the fatal stabbing.
The man charged with Patel's murder appeared in court on Saturday and was granted interim name suppression. He has been remanded in custody until his next appearance at the Auckland High Court on December 14.
Police prosecutor Victoria Brooker alleged the 42-year-old man also charged with robbery took the murder accused to the dairy. Police allege the 42-year-old man was in communication with the murder accused and picked him up at the end of the incident.
The 42-year-old man has appeared in Auckland District Court and was also granted interim name suppression. He has been remanded in custody and will appear in the Auckland District Court on Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit the Auckland suburb of Sandringham on Saturday afternoon to meet with community leaders after the killing.
The Dairy and Business Owners' Group has been critical of the Government saying they are not being hard enough on crime.
The group's chair Sunny Kaushal told AM it had been warning the Government someone will be killed as offenders continue to hit New Zealand businesses.
"We warned someone would be seriously injured or killed," he said. "Yet we only get radio silence from a Government that has our blood on its hands."
A Givealittle page was created by the Dairy and Business Owners' Group and has raised over $40,000 to assist the victim's family "over an unimaginably trying time ahead".
