Police close in on Tolley killers
With the second anniversary of Lois ‘‘Loie’’ Tolley’s brutal murder being marked on Sunday – in what was thought to be a targeted hit by desperate, underworld addicts – police say they have solid evidence that will bring the 30-year-old’s killers to justice.
Detective Senior Sergeant Glenn Barnett, officer in charge of Operation Archer, said Tolley had sadly become mired in Upper Hutt’s drug underbelly and her murder was likely a targeted hit or ‘‘taxing for perceived debts and the expectation of some cash or drugs’’.
On December 9, 2016, Tolley was home alone when four people smashed their way into her Ward St flat.
She desperately tried to escape her attackers – who stabbed and shot her at pointblank range, leaving her lying dead on her lounge floor.
‘‘She was defenceless, she was not a threat to anyone and certainly had no chance of defending herself against her four attackers,’’ Barnett said.
Evidence has confirmed Tolley was targeted, but likely for reasons as trivial as feeding the group with enough cash and drugs to get them through the night.
In the following moments of chaos, small amounts of drugs and cash were left in the flat, neighbours in the block were threatened and one of the attackers was heard yelling – distressed and remorseful – ‘‘what have we done?’’
It’s been a year since police said the noose was tightening on suspects, but while progress had been slow it had been consistent as underworld figures gradually came on side with police, who had begun to crack the criminal ‘‘no narking’’ code.
‘‘We are close . . . we now have a solid group of witnesses who are signed up to give evidence in court directly against the four,’’ Barnett said.
There were more than just four people involved directly
‘‘We are close . . . we now have a solid group of witnesses who are signed up to give evidence in court directly against the four.’’ Detective Senior Sergeant Glenn Barnett
before and after Tolley’s murder.
‘‘Just because you were not at the house does not mean you are safe,’’ Barnett said.
Operation commander Detective Inspector Scott Miller said six people had been interviewed in Australia, including a man and woman of significant interest – one of whom was a witness – who had helped build a more complete picture of events. Their information was useful in explaining why certain people – who could be crucial to the investigation – had fled to Australia.
Miller said hundreds of people had been spoken to, including drug users, dealers, known criminals and gang members.
‘‘Even Wellington’s hardest people have said this was unnecessary. Lois was no threat and some have asked why weapons were even taken.’’
The devastation wrought on Tolley’s loved ones was clear when her aunt, Lorraine Duffin, visited her niece’s memorial bench, in Tolley’s favourite Upper Hutt park, for the first time on Tuesday. Wiping away pooled rain from the commemorative plaque, Duffin broke down as the pain and pressure of two years without closure spilled out.
That grief triggered a plea to Tolley’s attackers, and those who know what happened, to come forward.
‘‘I guess I’m begging now . . . I never wanted to beg . . . her life was too precious, she was too much of a beautiful person to just forget about and not find some justice for her,’’ Duffin said.
Tolley’s mother, Cathrine MacDonald, said the pain was always close. ‘‘It’s two years and it just feels like yesterday. The pain and suffering does not stop for Loie’s family and friends and I just want to put my arms around her and never let her go.’’