Tawa murder-accused appears in court

  • Breaking
  • 15/11/2012

The man accused of murdering Tawa woman Amanda Dawn Taufale appeared in Porirua District Court this morning.

Ernest Smith, 38, was granted image suppression by the judge and will remain in custody until his next appearance in December.

Police allege Smith violently murdered Ms Taufale, a 33-year-old mother of two living in the suburb of Tawa, north of Wellington.

He will be examined by a forensic nurse this afternoon.

Smith was arrested last night after police spent the day examining two crime scenes – one at Ms Taufale’s house on Sunrise Boulevard and another on Takapu Rd near the railway station.

This morning, police returned to the railway station to canvass commuters about anything they saw regarding a blue Toyota hatchback parked near the rail lines.

They were showing an image of Smith and asking for any sightings of him during their commute yesterday morning.  

Around 35 police staff are working on the case.

Police are encouraging anyone with any information to call 0800 485380 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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source: newshub archive