The three men charged over a fatal robbery at a Sandringham dairy have pleaded not guilty in the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday morning.
Dairy worker Janak Patel was fatally stabbed multiple times in the street after following a man who allegedly took the cash register drawer from Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham in November.
A 34-year-old man was arrested at a New Lynn address after a major manhunt and charged with both aggravated robbery and Patel's murder.
Henry Fred, 36, and Shane Henry Tane, 42, can now be named as the duo accused of robbery.
All three men appeared at the High Court in front of Justice Sally Fitzgerald.
The lawyers of the three men entered not guilty pleas and the trio were remanded in custody.
Justice Fitzgerald set a trial date down for five weeks in May 2024.
The death of Patel sparked widespread criticism of the Government which was accused of not doing enough to protect dairy workers.
The Dairy and Business Owners' Group 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 $96,000 to assist the victim's family "over an unimaginably trying time ahead".
