Girl’s family want homicide answers
The grieving family of a 17-year-old girl found dead at a south Auckland house say police are being ‘‘pretty secretive’’ about the homicide investigation into her death.
Demetrius Pairama’s body was discovered at an empty home in Buckland Rd, Ma¯ngere, on Sunday.
Her grandfather, Black Power gang member and convicted killer Henry Pairama, said: ‘‘It’s a murder investigation.
‘‘I’m a gang member, you know how we think when people kill one of ours?’’
He said police had given him little information but said someone was being investigated.
‘‘They didn’t say much to us but the [autopsy] report ... sounded pretty bad.
‘‘From the information they’ve given us it sounds like it’s going to be a closed casket.
‘‘They were saying that they could only identify her by her fingerprints, that she was too beaten up.’’
A forensic investigation and post mortem examination was carried out on Wednesday but police were yet to say publicly what happened, other than that they believed she died some time on Saturday.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faa Vaaelua said the homicide investi- gation was ‘‘very complex’’.
‘‘Any homicide case is a tragedy, however this case involves a vulnerable young female and we are determined to establish the circumstances surrounding her death, which is the priority in our investigation.’’
Henry Pairama – a member of Black Power for about 38 years, who is from Whangerei – said his granddaughter was brought up by her paternal grandfather, but she would come and stay with him from time to time.
He said: ‘‘She was a good girl but she just had her own ways. ‘‘She’ll be missed, she was one of those happy-golucky girls. She was always full of life.’’
He added she was a ‘‘beautiful-natured’’ girl and was known by her family nickname of Haututu, meaning mischievous.
The family were waiting for the body to be returned to them, before they could finalise funeral preparations, he said.
Henry Pairama said there were a ‘‘lot of emotions’’ in the family house in Auckland, where his daughter, Demetrius’ mother, lived.
‘‘My daughter and her siblings are pretty angry and my sons want answers.
‘‘I’m waiting for the cops to sort out their part of the investigation.
‘‘I’ll leave them to do what they do and me and my sons will do what we do.’’
‘‘She was one of those happy-golucky girls.’’ Grandfather Henry Pairama