3 men charged

Falala Iongi, Viliami Mounga He Ofa Iongi, and Manu Hori Iongi are accused of murdering the Auckland grandmother on January 15, 2020.

1 News reports Falala and Viliami also face charges of wounding with intent to injure and reckless discharge of a firearm relating to a prior incident.

That involved the deceased’s son, Stephen Fisi’ihioi, and another man on December 4, 2019.

All accused denied the charges.

On Tuesday morning at the High Court at Auckland, Justice Grant Powell told the jury the trial had been aborted due to a “range of issues”.

In January 2020, Meliame Fisi'ihoi was watching TV in the sitting room in the early hours of the morning, when she got up to check a noise she heard outside her Favona home, a court has heard.

The mother of six went to the window, raised her right hand and opened the curtain.

As she looked out, a gunshot was fired from close range, killing Fisi'ihoi instantly.

The court heard the 57-year-old woman's husband and younger children were home in bed at the time.

The Crown says the bullet was meant for Fisi'ihoi's eldest son after a botched gun deal.

The 22-year-old and 28-year-old also face a charge each of causing grievous bodily harm to a person and discharging a firearm at three people in Favona on December 4, 2019.

The NZ Herald reports all three appeared separately before the court.

They have been remanded in custody until their next appearance at the High Court in Auckland on May 5, where they are expected to enter pleas.

A large group of people were in the public gallery for the trio's appearance.

The three accused each acknowledged the group before being remanded into police custody.