Baby Ru homicide: Arrest made in relation to investigation

A person has been arrested in relation to the investigation into the death of Baby Ru, RNZ can reveal.

It's understood the charge does not directly relate to Baby Ru's death and is not a murder or manslaughter charge.

Last month marked three years since Baby Ru, officially named Nga Reo Te Huatahi Reremoana Ahipene-Wall, was killed.

Three people were inside the Poole St, Taitā home on 22 October 2023 when Baby Ru suffered blunt force trauma so severe it fractured his skill.

RNZ understands that one person has been arrested and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

The three people who were in the house, who police have said are persons of interest are Rosie Morunga, her then-partner Dylan Ross, and the child's mother, Storm Wall.

Wall - who has repeatedly denied being involved in her son's death - has previously spoken at length with RNZ about what she alleges happened to her son and who she claims killed him.

RNZ is unable to report those allegations.

Speaking to RNZ last month, Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said the homicide investigation, dubbed Operation Huia, remains active with a "small dedicated team" working full time with oversight from a senior investigating officer.

"We continue to engage with our Crown solicitor and other forensic experts. It's an ongoing situation where we're working through evidential material, assessing it and assessing the criminal liability of any persons of interest."

Asked how close police are to making an arrest, Pritchard says he can't give any timeframes.

"It's a case where we engaged with Crown quite some time ago. Like us, there's a significant amount of material that they had to review, and from that we've got some other inquiry work and forensic work that we're doing as a result."