There have been emotional scenes at the funeral of a young woman who was the victim of a daylight attack in the west Auckland suburb of Massey.
The funeral was held at the Manukau Memorial Gardens on Thursday afternoon, where over 100 people, including family, friends and members of the Afghan community, paid respects to Farzana (Zana) Yaqubi at a funeral that’s been filled with prayer.
As she was carried towards her grave, those who gathered sobbed and wailed with grief.
On Wednesday, a 30-year-old man accused of her murder appeared in the Waitakere District Court.
The man, who has been granted interim name suppression, has been remanded in custody until his next appearance in the High Court in Auckland on February 1 2023.
There was an emotional outburst from members of the victim's family, who were sitting in the public gallery after the hearing concluded.
"She was just a child," one said.
"Why don't you pick someone your own size?"
It came after police were called to a property on Royal Road in Massey at around 5:45pm on Monday to reports a woman had been seriously injured.
Police said the woman died at the scene.
Newshub has spoken to a family member of the young woman. They want the public to know Yaqubi was a student at the Auckland University of Technology studying criminal law. She had a pilgrimage booked on the 29th. She had her bags packed, and ready to go.
Yaqubi was intending to take part in the Ziriyat pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Karbala in Iraq, but that dream was suddenly and brutally taken away from her, along with her life.
