Police have named the woman killed in a hostel in Invercargill on Saturday.
She was Nicola Jean Fleming (38).
A 30-year-old Invercargill man who was known to Ms Fleming has been charged with murder following her death.
Invercargill police launched a homicide investigation on Saturday morning after the woman was discovered dead in her room at the accommodation hostel in Tyne St.
Inspector Olaf Jensen said the man had been charged with murder and would appear in the Invercargill District Court today.
Twenty-two police from the Southland area supported by two ESR staff and a forensic pathologist were working on the investigation. The examination of the scene was expected to take ''a number of days'' to complete, he said.
An area of the Otepuni gardens reserve next to the hostel had been searched and items of interest had been found.
Police were appealing for anyone who was in the gardens area about 4am to 5am on Saturday to call Invercargill police.
