A large police presence greeted three men accused of murdering Auckland teenager Jayden Mamfredos-Nair when they appeared in the North Shore District Court on Monday.
A Newshub reporter said the courtroom was packed with family members of the victim, supporters of the accused and police officers.
The reporter said there were at least seven police officers in the courtroom who appeared to be keeping an eye on potential tensions, but added it was "peaceful" in the courtroom.
A family member of one of the accused yelled out "love you bro" as he took the stand.
None of the men sought bail or entered a plea. The three men were all granted interim name suppression by Judge Fitzgibbon until their next appearance, which is scheduled for the Auckland High Court on February 7.
It comes after police revealed on Saturday they had found the body of Mamfredos-Nair at an Auckland property and two people - both aged 26 - were arrested and charged with murder. A third person – aged 20 – was arrested later on Saturday and charged with murder.
Mamfredos-Nair, 19, was reported missing from the Auckland suburb of Massey in April last year before it became a homicide investigation in August.
Inspector Callum McNeill, of Waitematā said police weren't ruling out further arrests as part of the investigation.
On Saturday, Insp McNeill provided an update on the homicide investigation saying police have been searching at a a property in Dairy Flat since Wednesday, resulting in a body being found.
"While we still have to carry out formal identification procedures, from all of our enquiries to-date we believe this is Jayden," he said on Saturday.
"This now brings an end to the search for Jayden, which has been ongoing for more than eight months.
"I would like to acknowledge the absolute determination of the investigation team, who from day one has never given up in their work to locate Jayden and to bring about answers for his whānau."
It had been a devastating ordeal for Mamfredos-Nair's whānau, Insp McNeill said.
"We hope that this brings them some closure, in knowing that their boy can now be returned to them so he can be laid to rest."
