The man accused of killing Kaikohe grandmother Linda Woods will have to wait almost two years for his trial unless a judge can find space in a stretched court system.

Terrance Kiro, 52, appeared in the High Court at Whangārei on Friday charged with the manslaughter of Woods, 71, in her Kaikohe home on June 1.

Through his lawyer Catherine Cull KC he entered not-guilty pleas to that charge and others of burglary and aggravated assault before Justice Timothy Brewer.

Kiro did not apply for continued name suppression, meaning he can now be named.

Justice Brewer remanded him in custody for a three-week trial starting on June 9, 2025 – almost two years away.

The judge said he was not happy with a trial date that long away and he would endeavour to have it called earlier if space become available on the court list. He said such a long delay was down to the fact the courts were under-resourced.

He said while the remand was in custody to the trial date, Kiro could bring an application for bail before the court.

‘’I will be looking to make this a back-up trial for the earliest possible available date.’’

Kiro sat in the dock with his head bowed during the hearing.

The house where Kiro lived, and was arrested at, is less than 200m from the tidy Taraire St home where Woods lived with multiple generations of female family members.

Woods, who had a medical condition, died following a struggle with an intruder who was found in one of the women’s bedrooms.

A niece and two daughters are believed to have witnessed the home invasion.

Mike Dinsdale is news director and a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate who covers general news. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.