Court

A young Palmerston North couple sparked a wild chase through Otago because they feared Child Youth and Family (CYF) would take two children from them, a crown prosecutor said today.

A trial in the High Court at Timaru will adjourn early tomorrow to allow jurors and counsel to watch the Melbourne Cup on television.

An 18-year-old from Ohakune has been charged with manslaughter over the death of another teen in a car crash.

A prominent businessman has appeared in the High Court at Auckland today charged with attempting to murder his former business partner.

A committal date has been set for a Waikato horse breeder charged with murdering his wife.

A former partner of Thai sex worker Nuttidar Vaikaew told police he strangled her to death three weeks before her body was discovered, a court was told today.

A Waikato man found guilty of the manslaughter of his three-month-old daughter in 2005 has been jailed for 12 years.

Five of the Westport drug dealers swept up in the net of the police Operation Marvel investigation - one of the largest drugs busts in the country - have been sentenced in Greymouth District Court.

Three teenagers who bashed a young New Zealand man to death have all been given jail sentences, but one will be eligible for parole next year.

The key witness in the trial of a man accused of murdering a friend in the Desert Road seven years ago refused to talk to police for five years because she was "scared of the repercussions".