Two people charged in relation to the death of a Katikati boy attacked by dogs have made their second court appearances.

The 45-year-old man and 35-year-old woman appeared together in the Tauranga Community Magistrates Court yesterday.

The defendants, whose identities are suppressed, are each charged with owning a dog that caused the death of a person.

The maximum penalty for the charge is three years in prison.

The charges relate to the death of 4-year-old Timothy Tu’uaki Rolleston-Bryan also known as Timoti, who died on March 28 last year after being injured at a property in Tuapiro, Katikati.

Following the attack, three dogs were seized and euthanised by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Dutch told Community Magistrate Lesley Jensen that he only received the substantive disclosure materials from the police on April 8.

Dutch said he needed about three or four weeks to go through the disclosure materials with the defendants and obtain instructions for how they wanted to plead.

He also successfully sought continuation of the interim name suppression order for his clients. This was not opposed by police prosecutor Kerry Sykes.

Community Magistrate Jensen remanded the defendants on bail to reappear in the Tauranga Registrar’s Court on May 18.

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• Man and woman in court over fatal Katikati dog attack

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.