Burglary, boy’s death linked?
A burglary at a Waitarere Beach property may be linked to Alex Fisher’s death, police have revealed.
Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Forlong, who is leading the investigation into the Levin boy’s death, told a media conference at the Waitarere Domain on Sunday afternoon that police were trying to establish its connection to the tragic case.
They were yet to lay further charges in relation to the death of the 10-year-old.
While there had been speculation about the discovery of a weapon, Forlong said police were going through a detailed forensic examination of items and evidence at the scene, to help establish their relevance to the investigation. He would not say what the items were.
Neighbours were asked to continue to keep an eye out for any ‘‘unusual’’ items on their properties and to report any missing items.
Police were committed to doing their ‘‘utmost’’ for Alex, his family and the Waitarere community, Forlong said.
Alex’s family just want their boy home with them so they can say goodbye, Horowhenua District Mayor Brendan Duffy says.
Alex’s body was found on Thursday afternoon in the tussockcovered dunes of Waitarere Beach three days after he had been reported missing.
On Saturday, police briefed Alex’s parents, Sandra and Mike Fisher, before revealing that an autopsy showed their son died of head trauma.
‘‘The most significant desire at the moment is to get Alex home,’’ Duffy said.
From there the family would be able to prepare for Tuesday’s funeral.
Duffy spoke with the family on Saturday and said they were struggling. ‘‘The best word to describe it is ‘raw’. They are a family that is really struggling to come to grips with what has happened. They are finding it challenging.’’
Meanwhile, a Waitarere Beach woman saw Alex just before he disappeared and wishes now she had stopped to ask if he was OK. Sue Wilks said she saw Alex and a man walking along Kahukura Ave about 6pm on Monday, heading in the direction of the Four Square.
‘‘To me, he looked like a kid who’d been told he had to spend 24 hours with his boring grandmother. It was like he was somewhere he didn’t want to be. He wasn’t his normal happy self. It’s hard to explain, but it was the whole body language.’’
As Wilks drove past she tried to get a look at the man Alex was with, but he put his head down. Wilks thought it so strange that she commented on it to her partner when she got home. It was ‘‘stomach-churning’’ when she learnt a couple of days later that Alex was the missing boy.
The Waitarere Beach community, still reeling from the 10-year-old’s death, was at dusk yesterday to send paper lanterns into the sky.
The act and the one minute’s silence following was to mark the end of the community service at Waitarere Domain to help locals come together in the wake of the tragedy.
The service was not a memorial to Alex, but focused on the grief of the wider community of 600, organiser Chuck Wareham said.
With the family’s permission, an act of tribute was to be made to Alex, whose grandmother was a key figure of the Waitarere Beach community for 27 years, he said.