A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman following an altercation in Ngāruawāhia late last year.
Police said officers were alerted to several people fighting on Waipa Esplanade, near the intersection with Newton St about 1.30pm on December 27.
“Several minutes later, a critically injured person was taken to an ambulance station on Jordan St,” a spokesperson said.
Turipapa Tukere, 42, later died before she could be airlifted to hospital.
A homicide investigation was launched the same day with Waikato police seeking special search warrant powers as part of the investigation.
The Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act 2023 allows police to apply for special search warrant powers during times of gang conflict.
A 34-year-old man was arrested this morning following two search warrants in Hamilton carried out with the assistance of the armed offenders squad.
A search also took place in Tauranga.
He is scheduled to appear in Hamilton District Court today.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders thanked the Ngāruawāhia community for their support during the investigation.
“The investigation is ongoing and we are not ruling out further arrests.”
