Man denies Ihaka Stokes murder charge
Not guilty pleas have been entered by the man accused of assaulting and murdering 14-month-old Ihaka Paora Braxton Stokes.
The pleas were entered on the 22-year-old man’s behalf by his defence counsel Phil Shamy at a pre-trial appearance before Justice Cameron Mander in the High Court at Christchurch today.
Ihaka died after he was taken to Christchurch Hospital on July 3, and the Christchurch was man was charged with his murder after extensive police inquiries, about two weeks later.
He was charged with assaulting Ihaka on July 2 and murdering him the next day.
Name suppression was granted to the man at his initial appearance and later extended to today.
After discussion in court today, Justice Mander continued the suppression order and remanded the man in custody for a case review hearing in the High Court on October 2.
He said a further hearing to decide on suppression could be held in the meantime, and suppressed the reasons and discussion about why the suppression was being sought.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: