Matthew Dennis Hunt was a New Zealand Police constable whose killing in Massey on 19 June 2020 drew significant national media coverage. Eli Epiha, a 24-year-old man, pleaded guilty to his murder while a 30-year-old woman, Natalie Bracken, was found guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Hunt's death marked the first police fatality in the line of duty in New Zealand since 2009.
Matthew Dennis Hunt
Matthew Hunt was a 28-year-old constable born on 30 July 1991 who had served in the New Zealand Police for two and half years. He spent the majority of his time as a frontline officer in his hometown, Orewa, before being transferred for a temporary rotation to the Impairment Prevention Team based at the Auckland Harbour Bridge Police Station. When Hunt joined in October 2017, he joined as a part of Wing 312 trained at the Royal New Zealand Police College at Papakōwhai. He was raised by his mother alongside his sister in the Hibiscus Coast and attended Orewa College. According to his family, Hunt's "life-long dream" was to be a police officer after studying criminology and working in prisons.
The incident
On 19 June at 10:37am (NZST), Constable Matthew Hunt and his partner, Constable David Goldfinch were shot after a car they had tried to pull over crashed on Reynella Drive in Massey, Auckland. Hunt and his colleague attempted to render first aid to the vehicle occupants; however the driver emerged armed and Hunt was killed during the shooting that followed. His colleague was wounded and admitted to hospital. Neither Hunt nor his colleague were armed with a firearm at the time. A member of the public was also injured by a vehicle during the incident. According to police, the suspect fled into a silver Mazda Demio following the shooting and later abandoned the vehicle.
Manhunt and investigation
In response, the police including members of the Armed Offenders Squad and Eagle helicopters launched a manhunt for the perpetrators and searched vehicles. Eight schools in Massey were also placed in lockdown including Massey High School and Don Buck Primary School. Armed police officers also guarded police stations.
Several hours after the shooting, the police stormed a home in Rena Place in Auckland's West Harbour. In addition, police also arrested a fleeing driver on the Lincoln Road overbridge in the Northeast Motorway after using road spikes to stop his car. The police also spoke to two persons of interest. Later that night, a 24-year-old man was charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving causing injury. The man briefly appeared in the Waitakere district court on 20 June where he was formally arraigned and remanded into custody until his next court appearance on 8 July.
On 20 June, the police announced that they were looking for a 30-year-old woman named Natalie Bracken in relation to the shooting incident. She was charged with driving charges and as an accessory to the murder. Later that day, the police took Bracken into custody in West Auckland and confirmed that she was assisting police inquiries.
Legal proceedings
Eli Epiha
In early July 2020, Eli Epiha appeared in the Auckland High Court where he pleaded not guilty to murdering Hunt and the attempted murder of the second police officer (the then yet unnamed Constable David Goldfinch). He also pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving, causing injury to a member of the public. On 14 August, Epiha's name suppression lapsed after he abandoned his appeal for name suppression.
In early July 2021, Epiha pleaded guilty to Hunt's murder and dangerous driving causing injury after fleeing police. However, Epiha pleaded not guilty to the alleged attempted murder of the second police officer, who was identified as Goldfinch. On 12 July, Judge Geoffrey Venning convened a jury for Epiha's trial for the attempted murder of Goldfinch. In addition, suppression of Epiha's earlier guilty pleas and a non-publication order of images of the defendant was also lifted.
On 27 July 2021, Epiha was found guilty of the attempted murder of Goldfinch. During the trial, the defendant had maintained that he did not intend to kill Goldfinch. After hours of deliberations, the jury convicted Epiha of attempted murder.