Police now say they believe a woman who died after being stabbed on an Auckland bus this week may have known the man charged with her murder.
The woman died after she was stabbed on a bus in Onehunga on Wednesday.
On Thursday, 37-year-old Kael Austin Leona of Onehunga was arrested after handing himself into police.
He appeared in court on Friday charged with murder – as well as with threatening to kill another woman on the same day, among other charges.
Police initially said it was believed the woman and her attacker were not known to each other – but in an update today, Acting Detective Inspector Alisse Robertson said: “Police continue to establish the victim’s movements and now believe she may have known the man charged with her murder.”
The statement came with an appeal for the public’s help.
“Ongoing enquiries have included reviewing a range of CCTV footage in the Panmure and Onehunga area between 8.30am and 1.30pm on Wednesday 23 October 2024, which show the victim with a man at several points throughout the day,” Robertson said.
“Police continue to establish their movements through that area.
“We want to hear from anyone who was in the following areas and times, and may have information to share:
- “Outside Woolworths Onehunga, about 8.30am;
- “Boarding a bus on Church Street, Onehunga at about 9am and disembarking at 9.30am at a bus stop on Tripoli Road, Panmure;
- “Between 1.30pm and 2pm, in the Panmure township and its bus station;
- “About 2pm, boarding the No.74 Bus at the Panmure Bus Station.”
The victim was in a grey hooded sweatshirt, light coloured shorts, and black shoes, police said, adding she was carrying a black satchel.
The man was wearing a baseball cap with Niue written across the front, a zip-up camo coloured hooded sweatshirt, light coloured pants and white shoes, and carrying a black backpack.
“Police would like to hear from anyone who saw the victim and the man,” Robertson said.
Anyone with information was urged to call 105.
