Residents of a “quiet and safe” suburb in central Auckland are terrified after learning the man alleged to have stabbed and killed scientist Stephen Thorpe in Blockhouse Bay had lived locally.

A 26-year-old man accused of killing Thorpe on Saturday appeared in the Auckland District Court this afternoon. Judge Hana Ellis remanded him in custody and transferred the matter to the High Court. Ellis granted the man, who did not enter any pleas, interim name suppression.

Police were at a house belonging to people known to the man this afternoon. Neighbours told the Herald they had seen investigators trawling the property for any evidence since his arrest yesterday.

A former flatmate of the accused told the Herald the man rarely engaged with his housemates, preferring to keep to himself in his room.

“Mostly he was always in his room. He wouldn’t say hello to anybody and all that.

“He did have some girlfriends, they were coming and meeting him, and [he was] going out with them also. He had a beautiful car – everything was there.”

Neighbours said they were not familiar with the occupants.

They felt uneasy seeing police in the neighbourhood, had been left scared after the stabbing at their local park, and were concerned by the developments.

“It’s so horrifying,” one neighbour said.

Armed police officers and dog units at the Blockhouse Bay Tennis Club on Rathlin St, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, on Saturday. Photo / Dean Purcell

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“I thought this was a safe place. But when I heard about that incident on Saturday ... I was just so concerned about what’s happening,” she said.

She and her husband have seen police poking around the property over the past two days.

Another neighbour said “it was really sad that Stephen died, and really scary” his alleged killer could have been nearby.

“It’s such a lovely neighbourhood. It’s amazing,” they said.

Police investigate the scene of a fatal stabbing at the Blockhouse Bay Tennis Club on Rathlin St on Saturday. Photo / Dean Purcell

“But it’s really terrifying, especially considering you know, there are kids around, there’s a park here, and the kids walk around here all the time. It’s just really scary to think that it might not be safe.”

Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said this morning that police executed a search warrant at the house overnight. Baldwin said police arrested the man yesterday afternoon “near the homicide scene” and had since charged him with Thorpe’s murder.

Thorpe a highly regarded scientist, had bug species named after him

Thorpe was a highly regarded entomologist with a passion for seeking out and identifying bugs and plants.

He worked seven days a week out of the Whau River Catchment Trust’s offices at the club.

Stephen Thorpe was an entomologist who had nine species of bugs named after him.

The scientist had at least nine species of bugs named after him.

Thorpe also contributed some 12,000 insect specimens to the Auckland Museum, where he worked mainly as a volunteer throughout the 2000s.

“He had a prodigious memory, particularly for all the scientific literature about New Zealand beetles,” said John Early, a former entomology curator at the museum.

“His death is tragic and untimely, not just for its horrific circumstances but also that his valuable contribution to New Zealand entomology is now ended.”

Dave Seldon, president of the Auckland branch of the Entomological Society of New Zealand, said he was shocked to hear of Thorpe’s death.

“The main thing for the entomological community now and in the future is that we’ve lost a person who was able to identify so many different species of insects and other arthropods as well.”

Police have been asking anybody with security camera footage from the area of the incident or any other information that could help the investigation to contact them on 105 or online and reference Operation Elba or file number 240825/4136. Information can also be offered anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.