Sao Young death: two more arrests in connection with Hamilton murder

Two more people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Hamilton father in March.

Sao Young, 40, was last seen in the Insoll Ave area a month earlier, on March 13, when police alleged he was killed.

His body was found a month later on a rural property on Ballard Rd, outside Hamilton, on April 13.

Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley said today that two women were arrested in connection with his death, following the earlier arrest of a 24-year-old man.

“A 20-year-old woman appeared in Hamilton District Court today charged with complicity in the murder, two counts of kidnapping and two other counts of wounding with intent to cause serious bodily harm,” Pitkethley said.

“A second woman, 34, was arrested this afternoon and is due to appear in Hamilton District Court tomorrow on charges of murder and kidnapping.”

Pitkethley said the investigation team was working to piece together the events that led to the murder of the father of three.

The investigation team continued to actively reconstruct the events that led to Young’s murder.

“This week’s arrests are another step forward and we are not ruling out more arrests,” he said.

A third defendant in connection with the murder, a man, was arrested on Saturday.

The 24-year-old was granted provisional name suppression after a brief appearance in Hamilton District Court on Monday.

The defendant’s attorney, Charles Bean, successfully defended the provisional removal of the name, which was supported by the police.

The man, from the Waikato region, was taken into custody to reappear in Hamilton Superior Court on October 6.