Killer on the run: woman arrested in connection to Katrina Epiha breakout

A woman has been arrested and charged with complicity following the escape of the murderer Katrina Epiha, who has been on the run for more than a week.

Four other people have been arrested as the police continue to hunt Epiha.

The 22-year-old escaped from custody while being transferred from Middlemore Hospital back to prison in the early hours of last Friday, September 11.

Police said that as part of their investigations, several search warrants were executed in Manukau counties overnight.

A woman was accused of being an accessory. She was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm, along with three other people who were jointly charged.

A man was also arrested for breach of conditions.

All five are due to appear in Manukau District Court today.

“At this time, Epiha is still pending, however, the police continue to follow the lines of investigation and remain committed to locating her,” they said in a statement.

“The police would like to remind anyone who assists them in their efforts to evade the police that they are facing prosecution.”

Epiha, was convicted of fatally stabbing 32-year-old Alicia Maree Nathan and threatening to kill another woman on an Avonhead property in Christchurch while still a teenager in August 2017.

It is considered dangerous and members of the public have been warned not to approach it.

At the time of his escape, he was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt with a white shirt underneath, gray sweatpants, and light pink shoes.

He has a nose piercing and one just below the left side of his mouth and two distinctive tattoos on his face.

Epiha also has ties to the Mongrel Mob gang.

It was revealed that the prisoner, who required medical treatment that could only be done in a hospital, managed to escape despite being handcuffed to one of the two prison officers she was with at the time.

Department of Corrections regional commissioner Lynette Cave said in a statement: “She was accompanied by two Corrections officers. The prisoner was handcuffed to one of those Corrections officers.”

Police were immediately called in and have been actively searching for her ever since, Cave said.

“A full operational review of the circumstances of the incident is underway.”

Anyone with any information about Epiha’s whereabouts should contact the police via 111, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.