Police set up cordons after two bodies were found at a property on Peter Snell Drive in Northland on 15 May, 2023.
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro

A Northland woman has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering two young children earlier this year.

The woman, who has continued name suppression, appeared in the High Court at Whangārei today by audio-visual link.

Police launched a homicide investigation after two pre-school-aged children were found dead on 15 May at a property on Peter Snell Road in Ruakākā, a beachside settlement south of Whangārei.

The woman’s lawyer has entered not guilty pleas to both charges.

The defendant is due back in the High Court for a case review hearing on 24 November.

Justice Timothy Brewer ordered the woman’s interim name suppression be continued until that date.

The trial is expected to last for three weeks and to take place in March 2024.

The deaths of the two young children, just a block from the local high school, shocked the Ruakākā community.

The woman was initially placed in the custody of a mental health facility.