NZ police arrest teen in tourist murder

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with the slaying of a Scottish tourist in New Zealand, police said Tuesday.

The teenager appeared briefly in Rotorua Youth Court on North Island and was charged with murder, aggravated robbery and intentional damage in the killing of Karen Aim. He did not enter a plea, and Judge Jocelyn Munro ordered the boy to remain in custody at a youth facility until the next court session in April.

Munro barred publication of any details relating to the charges. The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, faces a minimum sentence of life imprisonment, normally allowing a release after 10 years, if convicted of murder.

Aim, 26, from the Orkney Islands, was attacked Jan. 17 on her way home after drinking with friends in the town of Taupo. Police responding to reports of vandalism at a Taupo high school found her lying in a pool of blood on a street corner.

Aim was on a working holiday in New Zealand. Her body was flown to her hometown for burial.

Last month a prominent British composer, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the queen's master of music, said he had written a composition in Aim's memory after being "moved and shocked" by her death.