The man accused of murdering policewoman Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming in the early hours of New Year’s Day has been named as Hayden Donald Jason Tasker, of Motueka. 

Suppression lapsed today at a High Court pre-trial hearing in Wellington. 

Tasker, 32, was charged with multiple offences, including murder, as a result of the incident in Nelson’s Buxton Square car park. 

He denied the murder charge at a High Court appearance in Blenheim in late February. 

He also pleaded not guilty to other charges, including the attempted murder of Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay, who was with Fleming at the time. 

Hayden Donald Jason Tasker of Motueka has been named as the man accused of killing Nelson police officer Lyn Fleming in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2025. Photo / Tracy Neal 

Tasker also denied causing grievous bodily harm to Ramsay with reckless disregard for his safety as an alternative charge and three charges of driving a motor vehicle on a road in a manner that was dangerous to the public. 

At the same time, he pleaded guilty and was convicted on charges of drink driving and driving while disqualified. 

Fleming and her colleagues had been doing foot patrols in central Nelson when they were allegedly set upon by a vehicle in Buxton Square about 2.10am. 

Fleming, 62, was injured alongside Ramsay, and another officer when a car rammed into her and then into a police car. Two members of the public were also injured. 

Fleming succumbed to her injuries in hospital that day, surrounded by her family, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said at the time. 

Tasker was arrested soon after and made an initial brief appearance in the Nelson District Court on January 3 when he was remanded in custody. 

Chambers said Fleming was the first policewoman to be killed in the line of duty in New Zealand, and the first police officer to be killed while on duty in Nelson. 

Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming was killed after a car ramming in Nelson in the early hours of January 1, 2025. Photo / Supplied 

She was farewelled at a large ceremony in Nelson attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. 

The service followed a community candlelight vigil in Nelson attended by thousands. 

Suppression has been in place since his first court appearance soon after the incident on January 1 this year, and over several court appearances since, but it lapsed today. 

Crown prosecutor Mark O’Donoghue said in February that continued suppression was contrary to the public interest, but the court was bound to continue it until the order had been complied with, in order to protect the defendant’s fair trial rights. 

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.