( dpa ) - A 50-year-old New Zealand businessman appeared Monday in court charged with murdering a teenager who was reportedly painting graffiti on fences in a suburban street near his home.
Pihema Cameron, 15, was stabbed to death late Saturday in Manurewa, near Auckland, police said.
Bruce William Emery did not enter a plea when he appeared in the Manukau District Court and was remanded in custody until Thursday.
The mayor of Manukau, Len Brown, was quoted in the New Zealand Herald as saying, "Graffiti is an issue we absolutely want to get on top of. Tagging (graffiti painting) is a starting point for a lot of youngsters getting onto the criminal treadmill."