A 45-year-old man has denied murdering a toddler in a case that rocked their home town of Kaikohe.
Drummond Augustine Leaf appeared in the High Court at Whangārei this morning charged with the murder of Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene on May 21 this year.
He was also charged with assaulting the three-year-old in a separate incident a month earlier.
Leaf pleaded not guilty and elected a trial by jury.
He was remanded in custody and was due back in court on July 18.
Leaf, who appeared by audio visual link, had earlier been granted name suppression but that lapsed today.
His next appearance, for a case review hearing, was expected to be in person.
More than 400 people, including iwi and community leaders and a Rātana brass band, marched down Kaikohe’s main street last week to honour Catalya’s short life.
Neighbours in the Tawanui Rd housing complex where she lived said her smile was so bright “it lit up the whole world”.
rnz.co.nz
