West Coast shooting: Murder-accused appears in court

A 45-year-old man accused of killing a West Coast woman over the weekend has appeared in the Greymouth High Court on Tuesday facing a murder charge.

Hayley Williams, 43, was killed on Sunday at her Marsden Rd property in Greymouth, sparking an armed offenders squad call out and an appeal for the public to report any suspicious activity or sightings of the man.

The accused was located the next day in Hokitika after a tip-off from the public where he gave himself up.

"I want to reassure our community and [the victim's] family that police have and will continue to do everything that we can to hold to account those people responsible for [her] death," West Coast Area Commander Mel Aitken says.

"We were getting calls [on Monday] of potential sightings of a male [of interest] and it was one of those sightings that led us to locating him."

Police say a number of children were at home at the time of the incident and confirmed that Ms Williams' children were among them.

The man appeared via video link and has been granted name suppression before reappearing on November 10.

Newshub.