Search on for clues to killings
A POND is to be drained on a rural Papakura property as police search for clues and a weapon used to shoot a man and woman found dead on Sunday.
Police are treating the deaths as a homicide and believe the pair are Mt Eden woman Glenys Stanton, 47, and 51-year-old Trevor Waite.
Mr Waite lived at the house and the pair were found dead by his teenage daughter just after 11am at the home in Ponga Rd, Opaheke, west of Papakura.
‘‘A preliminary analysis of the scene indicates that there was a third person involved,’’ Detective Inspector Dave Lynch says.
He says there are signs at the scene that the victims were known to the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Mr Lynch says there was nothing to suggest it was a burglary turned violent and says the pair were not involved in any illegal activities. Neither were known to police.
On Monday Mr Lynch said it appears the pair were shot, but a firearm had not yet been recovered.
A scene examination began on Sunday night, and an area canvass was carried out on Monday.
An autopsy on both bodies was to be held yesterday to determine the cause of death.
Mr Lynch says any information from the public covering the period from Friday night to Sunday morning was important to the investigation and he asked for help.
The home where the bodies were found is behind a number of pine trees, out of view from the cordon and the main road and sited on at least an acre of land.
Mr Lynch says Mr Waite was renting the property while the owners were overseas.