Kyle Whorrall, 33, was killed at a bus stop on St Johns Rd in Meadowbank, Auckland. Photo: SUPPLIED
A trio of teenagers are the latest to be arrested as Auckland police investigate the violent murder of American student Kyle Whorrall.
Six people have now been charged in connection with the homicide investigation, including five teenagers and a 33-year-old woman.
Whorrall, a PhD student at Auckland University, was killed in an attack at a Meadowbank bus stop on 19 April.
The Operation Aberfeldy team has since been investigating the homicide.
On Thursday, three additional people were charged after police searched properties in Kaikohe, Mt Wellington and Manurewa.
Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said as a result, two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old have been charged jointly with murder and aggravated robbery.
"We have spoken with Kyle's mother this morning, to keep her updated on this development, and it is not lost on us the profound impact this event has had on her family," Baldwin said.
The investigation now shifts towards moving into the prosecution phase, Baldwin said.
"At this point we believe we have identified those allegedly involved, however the investigation remains ongoing."
Baldwin told RNZ that Thursday's search warrants wasn't the first time they'd been looking for the three latest alleged offenders arrested.
"The people of interest at those locations had been people of interest for some time, and we have executed previous search warrants," he said.
Baldwin said they had recovered some new items of interest from the properties searched, and will be reviewing them.
Police had earlier told RNZ they could not say if a machete found in vegetation at Maybury reserve five months after the killing was linked to the fatal attack.
When asked whether there's likely to be further arrests in relation to the case, Baldwin said there won't be further arrests in relation to the murder aspect.
He said the latest arrests didn't take away the pain of the loss, but it had brought Whorrall's mother some comfort.
"Significant day for Kyle's family and I think the community of St Johns, this has impacted them as well."
An 18-year-old male will appear in the Kaikohe Youth Court and the other two charged will appear in the Auckland Youth Court on Thursday.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
