A teenage boy charged with the murder of American PhD student Kyle Whorrall has pleaded not guilty and will go to trial next year.
The 16-year-old reappeared at the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday charged with murder and aggravated robbery, after Whorrall was fatally injured at a bus stop in Meadowbank last month.
His trial has been set to begin on 31 August, 2026.
A 32-year-old woman charged as an accessory after the fact to murder also appeared.
The woman indicated she would seek bail but did not make an application.
She has been remanded in custody and the boy has been remanded in a youth justice facility.
They will next appear for a case review hearing in July.
Whorrall's mother, Carole, wiped away tears as she watched from the public gallery alongside her son's friends and flatmates.
Family and friends gathered in Auckland on 5 May to plant a tree in memory of Whorrall, who was a PhD student of entomology at the University of Auckland.
His mother Carole Whorrall, visiting from the United States, joined his friends and flatmates to plant the pohutukawa, after a short ceremony organised by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
This article was first published by RNZ
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