Wed Sep 25 02:06:29 UTC 2024: ## Rotorua Man Faces Murder Charge, Linked to Attacks on Elderly Couple
Rotorua police are investigating a series of violent incidents that have left one woman dead and an elderly couple critically injured.
A 52-year-old Rotorua man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead in her Old Taupō Rd home on Monday afternoon. The man will also face charges related to the serious assaults of an elderly couple at a Russell Cres property earlier that morning.
The elderly couple, who are in their 70s and belong to a local church, remain in critical condition in Rotorua Hospital. A third person at the couple’s home sustained minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.
Police confirmed the incidents are linked because all three alleged victims were known to the arrested man.
Neighbours have described the murdered woman as a loner who didn’t have many visitors. They say she had been saddened recently after losing her mother and father within a week of each other 18 months ago.
A neighbour of the couple on Russell Cres described them as a “lovely couple” and expressed shock and sadness at their injuries.
Police are urging anyone with information about either incident to contact them via the 105 phone service or online, referencing file number 240923/0552. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
The 52-year-old man appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday and was remanded in custody until his next appearance in the High Court at Rotorua on October 18.
First Piper 