Two men charged with murder of Radio New Zealand employee Phillip Cottrell

Two young men have been arrested and charged with the murder of 43 year old Radio New Zealand employee Phillip Cottrell a short time ago.

Officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Miller says Police have charged both men, aged 17 and 19 years at Wellington Central Police Station a short time ago.

"These arrests follow an extensive amount of enquiries carried out by the investigation team over the past few days, however there is still a large number of enquiries to be made and we continue to need help from the public."

D/S/S Miller says a number of motorists and people were in the vicinity of Boulcott Street around 5:30am on Saturday morning, when Mr Cottrell received his fatal injuries.

"We have identified a courier driver who was in Boulcott Street about this time, but we are yet to identify a Wellington Combined taxi driver, other motorists and a male and female couple captured on CCTV footage between 5:20am and 5:45am on Saturday 10 December."

He says whilst people may have not seen or heard anything suspicious in Boulcott Street during this time, it's vital Police can account for all of these vehicles and people, which will greatly assist us as we continue to investigate Mr Cottrell's death.

"We would like the drivers of these vehicles in the attached CCTV images to come forward and contact Police, as well as the male and female pictured. Any information, no matter how small, will greatly assist us."

The two men charged with Mr Cottrell's murder will appear in the Wellington District Court today.

"We now believe both arrested men have spoken to associates about what has occurred. We urge those people and anyone who has any information in relation to this investigation to contact Wellington Police on (04) 381 2000 or phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."