-
Watch Video
Neighbours of the Napier house in which a five year old girl was found dead overnight have told ONE News of their shock at the discovery.
The girl's body was found by her mother around 2am.
"It's quite frightening, disturbing for everybody around here because we're quite close really," neighbour Rex Whittaker said. "Everybody [usually] knows what's going on, and it was quite a surprise to wake up to that, [it's] got us gobsmacked."
A 24-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he appeared in court to face charges in connection with the "suspicious" death of the girl.
He was arrested and charged with common assault this morning.
Inspector Kevin Kalff of the Napier police said at this point he understood there was no weapon involved.
"The family were known to police and other agencies and part of the investigation will be a review of the actions that everybody has taken in relation to our visits," Kalff told ONE News.
The arrested man was granted interim name suppression so he had time to tell his parents.He has been remanded to reappear in Napier District Court on January 12.
His lawyer Philip Jensen said more serious charges were likely and did not argue against police opposition to bail.
Close family members were assisting police with their inquiries and police were not actively seeking anyone else, Kalff said.
A post-mortem is expected to be held tomorrow to establish the cause of the girl's death.
Latest NZ News Video
-
ONE News Minute 9am update: May 26 (1:00)
-
Kids cough up $14m for Government (1:50)
-
Education ministry 'barbaric' (1:55)
