Youth charged with murder

A young person appeared in the Youth Court at Christchurch yesterday charged with murdering Ashburton mother Sina Solomona.

The young person was interviewed by police on Wednesday night and charged with killing the 22-year-old in the early hours of Saturday morning.

She was found in a pool of blood at her Ashburton home.

The young person was remanded in custody to reappear on January 14 at Ashburton District Court.

Police would not comment on the gender or age of the charged person.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae said inquiries are continuing at a number of sites of interest to ensure that all relevant information is obtained.

"We are continuing to gather evidence to put together a full picture of the events around Ms Solomona's death,'' Mr Rae said.

Police collected "a number of items relevant to the investigation'' during searches yesterday.

Ms Solomona's body was released to her family yesterday and her funeral will be held in Ashburton on Saturday.