Locals reeling after body found
Denver Chance’s alleged killer appears in court
The man accused of murdering Denver Chance has been remanded in custody until his next appearance in the High Court at Auckland on March 27. The Kingseat 41-year-old was arrested in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden shortly after 7pm on Sunday.
Several of his supporters were in the Papakura District Court yesterday when he appeared before Community Magistrate Lauolefale Lemalu.
She said the accused’s first appearance should have been before a judge because she only had the jurisdiction to remand him in custody.
She agreed to grant interim name suppression and also suppressed the information contained in the police summary of facts.
Chance was last seen on February 24, a Sunday, when he left his rented Mairangi Bay home about 3.30pm.
The body of a man believed to be Chance was found at a South Auckland home in Kingseat, near Papakura, about 4pm on Sunday.
The body has not been formally identified but police believe it to be the missing 43-year-old man’s.
“Our thoughts are with Denver’s friends and family tonight,” Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said on Sunday evening. “Our focus throughout the investigation was finding Denver and being able to provide his family with answers.
“This is not the outcome any of us wanted, but at least we are now able to return Denver to his family and hold the person allegedly responsible for his death to account.”
Family and friends of Denver Chance are taking to social media to remember the man with “an incredible spirit”.
After two weeks of searching and public appeals for information on his whereabouts, Chance’s family have thanked everyone for their support.
“It’s been amazing. We are devastated with the outcome,” they wrote on the Help Find Denver Facebook page.
“Family and friends will now regroup and thank you for the privacy at this difficult time.”
Members of the Kingseat community are reeling after the news a body believed to be Chance’s has been discovered in their area.
Resident Tim Martin said he had lived 27 years in Kingseat but he did not know the man who lived at the property concerned.
“It is all very shocking, but I really don’t know anything about the man involved. We’ve never had anything like this happen here.”
Kingseat dairy owner Lovejit Kaur told the Herald it was alarming to learn what had occurred so close to her business.
“It feels so scary to think it has happened in our area,” she said.
“We know a lot of people who live here, it is strange to think we may have served the person.
“Ever since we learned [Chance’s] phone had been used in the area, we just hoped it wouldn’t turn out like this.”
Last week, a police search focused on Karaka, around 5km away, but investigators narrowed down the search to the Kingseat property on Sunday. Armed officers stood guard at the roadside entrance to the property while police cars came and went and the Eagle helicopter hovered.
Kingseat is a rural community with a population of 6200 and is about 40 minutes from downtown Auckland if the traffic is clear.
It is surrounded by farmland and the only shops nearby are a fruit and vegetable store and a takeaway.