Police release few details following Hāwera homicide
Police have released few details about a homicide investigation which was launched in a quiet Hāwera street following the death of a man who sustained serious injuries late on Monday night.
Aside from a brief media statement yesterday morning, police had not released any further information or answered questions about the investigation by late afternoon.
It was not known if the victim’s body was still at the scene, if police had made any arrests or if they were seeking any witnesses.
All that was known was that a homicide investigation was under way following the man’s death. Detective Senior Sergeant Debbie Gower said police were notified of the “disorder-related job” at a Gladstone St property at 10.17pm.
Police were conducting a scene examination and making further inquiries, she said.
“More information will be released when we are in a position to do so.”
An autopsy would be completed in the next few days.
Hāwera police referred journalists to the police media team.
The propertyis part of an accommodation complex made up of private rentals,believed to be owned by an oil and gas company, and emergency housing.
The area cordoned off with police tape was in the emergency housing part of the site, and uniformed police were guarding the scene.
During yesterday afternoon police staff in boiler suits were working around and inside the building.
Neighbours of the complex said the street, which is bordered by Hāwera’s Naumai Park, was usually quiet. One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said he had returned home on Monday night to find two ambulances, a number of police cars and a fire truck filling the street, and rushed inside to make sure their family was OK, which they were.
Another neighbour, who also did not wish to be named, said they heard shouting and then looked out the window to see all the emergency services. Both neighbours said they did not know the people living in the building where the person died.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they responded with two ambulances, a helicopter and a rapid response vehicle.
South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon said it was a “shock” when he read about the death yesterday morning.
Nixon said it was never a “nice thing” to go through for family and friends of the deceased or the emergency services that respond, and he felt for the family of the man. He said incidents like these sent “shock waves” through the community.
A sign at the office of the complex said management was out and provided a number to call. However, the person who answered and identified themselves as the temporary manager did not wish to comment.
The complex was formerly the Ngahuru Care Home, which was closed by Presbyterian Support in 2012 after it became financially troubled. The facility was built in 1894 as a hospital and was taken over by Presbyterian Support in 1975.
Property records show it was last sold in May 2021 for $1.81 million to an Auckland-based company.
The sole director of the company, Preeti Khurana, did not answer calls yesterday from the Taranaki Daily News who wanted to ask how many people were living on the property.
The death was the first homicide investigation in Hāwera since December 2022 when Lionel Peat’s body was discovered at a unit on Albion St. In March Tamati Teariki Matene Wilson-tipa was sentenced to life, with a non-parole period of 17 years, for Peat’s murder.