The man accused of murdering policewoman Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming in the early hours of New Year’s Day has been named as Hayden Donald Jason Tasker, of Motueka.
Suppression lapsed today at a High Court pre-trial hearing in Wellington.
Tasker, 32, was charged with multiple offences, including murder, as a result of the alleged incident in Nelson’s Buxton Square car park.
He denied the murder charge at a High Court appearance in Blenheim in late February.
Tasker also pleaded not guilty to other charges, including the attempted murder of Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay, who was with Fleming at the time.
Tasker further denied causing grievous bodily harm to Ramsay with reckless disregard for his safety as an alternative charge and three charges of driving a motor vehicle on a road in a manner that was dangerous to the public.
At the same time, he pleaded guilty and was convicted on charges of drink driving and driving while disqualified.
Fleming and her colleagues had been doing foot patrols in central Nelson when they were allegedly set upon by a vehicle in Buxton Square about 2.10am.
Fleming succumbed to her injuries in hospital that day, surrounded by her family, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said at the time.
Tasker was arrested soon after and made an initial brief appearance in the Nelson District Court on January 3, when he was remanded in custody.
Chambers said Fleming was the first policewoman to be killed in the line of duty in New Zealand, and the first police officer to be killed while on duty in Nelson.
She was farewelled at a large ceremony in Nelson attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
The service followed a community candlelight vigil in Nelson attended by thousands.
Suppression has been in place since his first court appearance, and over several court appearances since, but it lapsed today.
Crown prosecutor Mark O’Donoghue said in February that continued suppression was contrary to the public interest, but the court was bound to continue it in the circumstances at the time, in order to protect the defendant’s fair trial rights.
