Police have charged an Auckland man with the murder of Hawke’s Bay teenager Ariki Rigby.

Rigby was killed in September 2022, about four weeks short of what would have been her 19th birthday, in a case that shocked the region and the country.

Her badly beaten and burned body – which her sister says had its hands and feet cut off – was discovered in a burned-out car in the carpark of a river reserve in Havelock North.

Police initially put police tape over the car and left, thinking her body was that of a sheep.

A man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Ariki Rigby in Hawke's Bay.

Detective Inspector Dave de Lange said Hawke’s Bay Police had on Tuesday arrested and charged an Auckland man with the murder of Rigby.

“Police have conducted an extensive and painstaking investigation to ensure the person responsible for her murder can be held to account.

“A 32-year-old man – who was living in Hawke’s Bay at the time of Ariki’s death - was arrested in Favona today and charged with murder and arson, in relation to the car that Ariki’s remains were found in.”

De Lange said the man would be appearing in Manukau District Court on Wednesday and police would be seeking a remand in custody without plea, for the charges to be transferred to Napier District Court.

“Police have informed Ariki’s whānau that an arrest has been made,” he said.

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“While they are very pleased that someone is being held to account for Ariki’s death, it doesn’t lessen the hurt and pain they have at the loss of Ariki, who would have turned 21 later this month.

“I would like to acknowledge the investigation team, who have worked tirelessly to get this result, and also those members of our community who have assisted our enquiries.

“As this matter is before the court, police are unable to make any further comment.”

The ‘heinous crime’ that must ‘weigh on the soul’

Ariki’s killing - and the fact no one had been charged after two years – has remained high in the thoughts of those living in the Hawke’s Bay region.

She was found in a burnt-out car at the River Road Recreational Reserve on the outskirts of Havelock North.

The car – a mid-90s dark grey Toyota Corona – was driven to the remote park between 10pm on Friday, September 2, 2022, and 7am on Saturday, September 3, and set alight.

Police were notified of the torched wreck by locals who live near the reserve on the morning of September 3.

But in an awful mistake, which understandably upset Rigby’s family, the officers who went to the scene mistook the charred body remains for those of a sheep.

A tow truck was booked to take the car wreck to a crusher’s yard for September 5.

Anaherā Rigby during an emotional visit to the site where the badly beaten and burned body of her 19-year-old sister Ariki Rigby was found in a car park in rural Hawke's Bay back in September 2022. Photo / Neil Reid

But on the day the truck was set to pick up the car, police were again urged to return to the scene by Hastings-based dog-walker Kevin Monrad.

After examining the wreck – and seeing the charred body inside had shoulder-length hair and was wearing a necklace – Monrad rang police on the morning of September 5 and said he had discovered human remains.

“They sent someone down,” Monrad later told the Herald. “They waltzed on down [to the carpark] and it was like, ‘We have already heard about it. It is a sheep.’”

“I lost it, I had already exposed her face, and said, ‘Does a sheep have shoulder-length hair? Does a sheep wear a necklace?’. That is when the two officers went and had a look and asked me to stand back.”

That day police launched an “unexplained death” investigation before it was upgraded to a homicide on September 9, 2022.

If it wasn’t for Monrad’s urging, Ariki’s body may never have been discovered before the car was sent to the crushing yard and the Rigby family would never have been able to say farewell to the much-loved teen.

Pastor Michael Ngahuka later described his cousin’s death to the Herald as a “heinous crime” which he believed “has to weigh on the soul, it has to weigh on your heart” of those responsible and those who know the truth.

He has been among family members urging anyone with information to come forward.

Police officers scour the area near where the torched car containing Ariki Rigby's was found in a rural carpark. Photo / Neil Reid

“At the end of the day, this has happened in our community and they need to make a decision... will they be a part of [what happened]?” Ngahuka said.

“If you know something or someone, and you know they were involved and you don’t bring any justice to that or share anything, you are a part of it, in a sense.

“I don’t know how people can live with themselves like that... it has to weigh on the soul, it has to weigh on your heart. This heinous crime and act has happened. We just want justice.”

Anaherā has previously told the Herald she believed several gang-affiliated people were responsible for the killing. She believed “jealousy and drugs” were the motive.

- Additional reporting Neil Reid