By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of 
A 38-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman charged with murder appeared at the High Court in Whangārei on Friday. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Three people have now been charged with murder following an alleged stabbing in the remote area of Mangamuka in the Far North.
Euan Mackey, 59, died from wounds from an alleged altercation on 3 March at an Iwitaua Road address where police were called after receiving reports of a stabbing.
A 38-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man have been arrested over the past two weeks. However, only the 50-year-old was initially charged with murder.
At the High Court in Whangārei today, murder charges were formally laid on the 38-year-old and the 39-year-old.
The woman appeared via Audio Visual Link from a prison and the 50-year-old man spent his time in the dock waving and making heart shapes at her with his hands.
As legal counsel was only assigned in the past week and murder charges were laid today, interim name suppression was granted for all three.
All defendants pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set for 13 April, 2026, in which Justice Timothy Brewer expressed his dissatisfaction.
"I find this date to be unacceptably distant. A trial of charges such as these should not be scheduled for trial further out than 12 to 15 months," Justice Brewer said.
Justice Brewer said he would work with High Court scheduling staff to see whether the date could be brought forward.
The trio will appear next in the High Court in Whangārei on 24 May for a case review hearing.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
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