By Simon Plumb of 
Police set up cordons after two bodies were found at a property on Peter Snell Drive in Northland on 15 May, 2023. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Police took nearly an hour to send an officer to a distress call from a woman at the Ruakākā property where two children were allegedly murdered on Monday.
And when police did deploy, the officer was still two towns away - about a quarter of an hour's drive at legal speed.
The situation has seen a woman charged with two counts of murder.
Police have previously said they received a call from the address at 6.25am.
But when asked by Stuff to confirm what time they actually arrived at the property, police did not answer the question.
Instead, all police would say was that an officer was deployed at 7.16am - almost an hour after police received the distress call - and the responding officer then had to travel from two towns away.
"As we have advised, police received the first call from the address at around 6.25am on Monday," police said in a statement.
"Our first responder deployed from the Oakleigh area after 7.16am."
Police did not say where exactly in Oakleigh the officer had to start from. The Oakleigh service station, which is on the side of town closest to Ruakākā, is 16km from the Peter Snell Rd crime scene - about a 14-minute drive, at legal speed.
Police set up cordons after two bodies were found at a property on Peter Snell Drive in Northland on 15 May, 2023. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Stuff understands the distress call from the Ruakākā address came not long before police had a shift changeover, with night staff clocking off and day staff relieving them.
Stuff also understands the delay in response time has caused significant internal concerns among police staff.
It was not clear what time the children suffered the fatal injuries.
In response to Stuff's questions, police also said their response time was part of their investigation.
"The response to any calls for service around this matter are being considered as part of the ongoing homicide investigation."
A woman accused of murdering two children in Ruakākā has entered no plea and been granted interim name suppression in court on Tuesday.
On Monday morning, a homicide investigation was launched. Police were called to a property in Peter Snell Rd at about 6.25am where two children were found dead, said Detective Inspector Bridget Doell, from Northland CIB.
In Whangārei District Court on Tuesday, the woman entered the dock in a distressed state.
She was remanded in custody without plea, to appear in the High Court in Whangārei on 2 June.
Members of her family were also in court, with some crying and others appearing to pray.
The murder accused appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Tuesday in a distressed state and entered no plea to the two murder charges. Photo: Stuff / Denise Piper
Judge Gene Tomlinson granted her temporary name suppression. He also suppressed any identifying details of the woman or the victims.
But the judge allowed media to report on her appearance and publish photographs - with identifying details removed - as the "eyes and ears of the community".
Doell said this was an incredibly distressing situation for the family involved, along with first responders and police who attended.
"Police and Victim Support has been working closely to support all those involved in this tragic event.
"Police will continue to support the Ruakākā community through this understandably difficult time, and there will be an increased police presence in the area for the next few days," she said.
Educare Bream Bay, which Stuff understands was the kindergarten that the two children attended, released a statement acknowledging the 'significant and heartbreaking loss' that had happened in the community.
"Our kaiako and tamariki are being supported with lots of awhi and aroha as we navigate the next few days with our community.
"Our hearts go out to the whānau, our community and those connected with this tragedy."
*This story was first published by Stuff
