THE two-year-old girl who was found dead in the Rangitaiki River, near Matahina Dam, on Sunday will be buried today at Hillcrest cemetery.
Her body was taken to her family’s marae in Whakatane, where she has laid in state since the early hours of Wednesday morning.
While the child’s name was not suppressed by the courts, the Beacon has chosen not to name the girl while her family hosts her tangi.
The 32-year-old man accused of murdering the child, and his relationship to the girl, were suppressed when he appeared in the High Court at Rotorua on Wednesday.
The man pleaded not guilty to the charge, through his lawyer Gene Tomlinson, and suppression orders restricting the publication of his name will expire next Wednesday at 5pm.
He was remanded to reappear via audio visual link for a case review hearing on September 5. A trial into the matter will start on March 18 next year.
Justice Graham Lang said the family had requested the suppression of the accused name and his relationship to the girl until after the child’s tangi.
The girl’s body was found in the Rangitaiki River on Sunday at about 11pm. Police had been called to Te Mahoe village, near the dam, at 6pm because the girl was reported as missing.