On a Labour Weekend afternoon in Auckland, a small child's ordinary outing at Myers Park was shattered by violence, and now a quiet search has begun for a stranger who stood nearby. Police have released footage showing a man speaking with the 20-year-old now accused of stabbing a 5-year-old girl, a man who was walking with two young children and who, by police account, is not suspected of wrongdoing. Their hope is modest and human: that he will step forward and help the slow machinery of justice understand what happened in those moments. Meanwhile the courts have begun their long work, weighin
Police seek witness seen with accused before stabbing of 5-year-old girl at Auckland's Myers Park
A 5-year-old girl suffered numerous lacerations to her head and injuries to two fingers, and her family is dealing with post-traumatic stress.
He was present when the offending began but left a short time afterward.
Mark
Why are police making a public appeal for someone they say isn't a suspect?
Mimi
Because he was there. The footage shows him talking with the accused just before the attack, and he stayed until the offending began. Police say what he knows will help them prepare for court.
Luke
Worth noting what we don't know. The reporting doesn't say what the two spoke about, or whether the man understood anything was about to happen.
Mark
So the conversation itself is unexplained?
Mimi
Yes. All we have is that CCTV shows them talking, and that he left a short time after the offending began.
Luke
And the police statement that no one else is sought comes from Detective Sergeant de Heer. It's their position, not something we can independently check.
Mark
What about the court side?
Mimi
Justice Downs ordered two reports on fitness to stand trial and set a trial date of February 8, 2028. The name suppression is interim, granted over extreme hardship linked to mental health issues.
Luke
Be careful there. The suppression ground is not a finding about the attack or about fitness. Those reports haven't come back.
Mark
And the girl?
Mimi
Serious but stable at Starship. Her father says she had numerous head lacerations and injuries to two fingers, and that the family is dealing with post-traumatic stress.
Luke
That account comes from his Givealittle post, not from a hospital statement.
El Pulso
- A five-year-old girl was stabbed in Myers Park on October 25, and the attack has left her with numerous head lacerations and injuries to two fingers.
- CCTV captured a man talking with the accused just before the attack, and police are urgently asking him to come forward.
- The 20-year-old accused, who was also seriously hurt in self-inflicted injuries, appeared in the High Court with a Mandarin interpreter and remains in custody.
- A fitness-to-stand-trial assessment has been ordered, and the trial is not set to begin until February 8, 2028.
- The girl is in stable but serious condition at Starship, while her family grapples with post-traumatic stress.
On a Labour Weekend afternoon in Auckland, a small child's ordinary outing at Myers Park was shattered by violence, and now a quiet search has begun for a stranger who stood nearby. Police have released footage showing a man speaking with the 20-year-old now accused of stabbing a 5-year-old girl, a man who was walking with two young children and who, by police account, is not suspected of wrongdoing. Their hope is modest and human: that he will step forward and help the slow machinery of justice understand what happened in those moments. Meanwhile the courts have begun their long work, weighing the accused's fitness to stand trial, with a reckoning not expected until February 2028.
Police in Auckland are trying to identify a man who appears on CCTV from Myers Park, speaking with the person now accused of stabbing a 5-year-old girl. The footage was captured moments before the attack on October 25, during Labour Weekend. Detective Sergeant John de Heer says the man had two children with him, one in a pram, and left shortly after the offending began. He wore blue jeans and a maroon and blue sweatshirt. Police stress he is not a suspect, and they simply want to hear what he saw.
The accused, 20, appeared in the Auckland High Court the day before the appeal. Charged with attempted murder, he was remanded in custody, his head bowed beneath a black face mask while a Mandarin interpreter translated. Justice Mathew Downs granted interim name suppression on grounds of extreme hardship linked to mental health, ordered two reports on his fitness to stand trial, and set a trial date for February 8, 2028.
The girl was taken to Starship Children's Hospital in serious but stable condition. Her father described her injuries on Givealittle: numerous lacerations to the head and harm to two fingers. The family is living with post-traumatic stress. The accused was arrested at the scene and also taken to hospital with serious self-inflicted injuries.
What comes next depends on whether the man in the footage comes forward and what the fitness reports conclude. The trial itself remains more than a year away.
Police in Auckland are trying to identify one man. He appears on CCTV footage from Myers Park, talking with the person now accused of stabbing a 5-year-old girl, moments before the attack began on October 25, during Labour Weekend.
Detective Sergeant John de Heer said investigators obtained the footage during their inquiry. It shows the man speaking with the offender just before the stabbing. He had two children with him, one of them in a pram. According to de Heer, he was there when the offending began and left a short time afterward. He was wearing blue jeans and a maroon and blue sweatshirt.
Police have been clear that the man is not a suspect. De Heer said they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation. If the man sees himself in the description, he said, police would like to hear from him, because what he can tell them will help in preparing court proceedings.
The appeal came a day after the accused appeared in the Auckland High Court. He is 20 years old and has been charged with attempted murder. He was remanded in custody. In court he wore a black face mask and kept his head bowed, and a Mandarin interpreter translated the proceedings.
Justice Mathew Downs granted him interim name suppression, on the grounds of extreme hardship linked to mental health issues. The judge also ordered two reports on whether the man is fit to stand trial, and set a trial date of February 8, 2028.
The girl was taken to Starship Children's Hospital after the attack, in a serious but stable condition. Her father described her injuries in a post on Givealittle. He wrote that she received numerous lacerations to her head, along with injuries to two fingers. He said the whole family was dealing with post-traumatic stress.
The accused was taken into custody at the scene. He was also taken to hospital, with serious self-inflicted injuries.
What happens next turns on two things: whether the man in the CCTV footage comes forward, and what the two fitness-to-stand-trial reports conclude. The trial itself is more than a year away.
Citas Notables
We are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation, but the information will assist us in preparing court proceedings.— Detective Sergeant John de Heer
She received numerous lacerations to her head, along with injuries to two fingers.— The girl's father, in a Givealittle post
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