Gangs and family mark ‘insane loss’
‘‘He saved my life.’’
Millie Elder-Holmes has spoken simply of her boyfriend Connor Morris, after she joined his family, friends and Head Hunters gang members to mark the anniversary of his death on Saturday.
In an interview with the Sunday Star-Times last night, she asked people to remember that he was more than just the boyfriend of a well-known broadcaster’s daughter. ‘‘He was an amazing brother, an amazing son, and his family have suffered an insane loss.’’
Millie, the daughter of Paul Holmes and Hine Elder, was among hundreds of people who gathered at the Head Hunters headquarters in East Auckland yesterday to pay tribute.
More than 100 riders, led by Morris’ father Chris on his son’s old bike, took off from Swanson in West Auckland and made their way to the spot in Massey where 26-year-old Morris died in an altercation on August 3 last year.
‘‘He had his own two feet to stand on,’’ Millie said. ‘‘Yes, he saved my life. And there’s been such an outpouring from people in the community, you can see how he lit up their lives.’’
Millie could not say much about his death, ahead of this week’s High Court trial of Michael Thrift Murray, 33, charged with Morris’ murder.
Asked whether she would be following the trial, she would say only one thing: ‘‘What do you think? I was with Connor for seven years.’’
The bikers rode from the site of Connor’s death to the gang’s ‘‘Fight Club’’ in Ellerslie, which had been raided by drugs police just days earlier.
The gathering was a who’s who of the gang world, including representatives of the Filthy Few, Hell’s Angels, Tribesmen and Black Power. Connor Morris’ bike was put on display out the front of the club, with a painting of him.
‘‘He was not someone you could not remember,’’ Millie said. ‘‘He lit up a room. He had the most infectious laugh. He didn’t let people in easily but once he did let people into his life, he had your back totally.’’
Connor’s father Chris Morris, known as ‘‘One Eye’’ because he has lost his right eye, said it was an ‘‘awesome’’ day. ‘‘It just showed a lot of respect for Connor,’’ he said. ‘‘The New Zealand public’s been awesome, there’s a lot of nice people in this country.’’
Police were conspicuous by their absence, unlike on Tuesday when 180 officers descended on the club and other properties across the upper North Island, part of an operation targeting the large-scale manufacturing of methamphetamine.
Police seized 30 vehicles, including classic cars and motorbikes.
Elder-Holmes, who held Morris as he lay dying, has paid tribute to him on Facebook, saying he helped mould her into the person she is today. ‘‘In losing him I also discovered how strong I really am,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m not saying it’s been easy finding out how to just be me and be alone, it has been hard and I’m not perfect but I think I’m doing pretty dam good. I hope that I can inspire others to do the same, I wasn’t going to lose myself as well as him.’’