The victims of a violent axe attack that took place in Wellington last year have had their name suppression lifted, after a man appeared in court today.

A missing jacket and sightings of a vehicle are part of the focus by police investigating the axe murder of a woman in Upper Hutt last Thursday.

The man charged with the axe murder of an Upper Hutt woman has been named. One woman said the violent incident was a huge shock to the quiet community.

One person is seriously injured and three others have moderate injuries after a car crossed the centre line and crashed into another vehicle in Upper Hutt.

Slain intellectually disabled woman Mary Donnelly always maintained a childlike innocence about the world and never lost sight of her dreams, her sister says.

One person has died in a house fire in Upper Hutt overnight. Police said emergency services were called to the blaze in Trentham, Upper Hutt shortly after 8pm.

Police are seeking information on two cars believed to be involved in an aggravated robbery.

A Wairarapa woman who took days to seek help for her 3-year-old daughter's broken leg has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

A Hutt Valley taxi driver was stabbed in the head "out of nowhere" after he refused to give two women a free ride early today.

A taxi driver has been stabbed in Upper Hutt, leading to a search for two women whose images were caught on security camera footage in the cab.

Residents of an Upper Hutt house escaped safely today after a fire extensively damaged the property.

Two trailbikers missing in Upper Hutt last night used petrol from their bikes to build a fire so they could survive a wet night in the Akatarawa forest, police say.

Two mountain bikers reported as missing in Upper Hutt have made contact with police after spending a night in the bush.

Red, white and blue cars were set alight on different streets over a four-hour period in Upper Hutt last night.

A man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a Wellington principal.

The victim of a home invasion who was forced to open a safe with a shotgun to her head says she has been sentenced to a life of always looking over her shoulder.

More than a dozen Upper Hutt schools will this afternoon take part in a "rolling haka" stretching for several kilometres along Upper Hutt streets.

A world-leading recycling facility that opened today in Upper Hutt will break down nappies into a safe, odourless compost instead of sending them to landfill.

Hutt Valley police have released dramatic shots of a liquor store staff member chasing a robber armed with a knife out of the store last week.