Devastated parents urge killer to confess
SLAIN Hutt Valley hairdresser Huri King-Mosen didn’t have a bad bone in his body and had no enemies, his devastated parents say.
The 24-year-old was found dead on Tuesday afternoon on the floor of the Wainuiomata home where he lived.
Police believe he was killed on Monday night, after speaking on the phone to his parents in Rotorua at 5pm.
They tried calling him again at 8 o’clock that evening, but got no reply. The next afternoon, they were told he was dead.
‘‘We are devastated. We got the phone call on Tuesday and we were pretty numb after that,’’ his father Ralph said.
‘‘Our son didn’t have a mean bone in his body, not a single one. He was just such a wonderful person.
‘‘We believe [his death] must have been a cowardly act, because we know how friendly and accommodating Huri is.’’
Police have not yet revealed the cause of death, but said Mr King-Mosen died from injuries around his head suffered on Monday night.
He was found behind the door in a back room at the Wainuiomata house, and firefighters had to remove the door to get to him.
The house was secure and there were no signs of forced entry, police said.
No arrests have yet been made, so the hairdresser’s father has called for son’s killer to own up to the crime.
‘‘The individual that has brought about his demise, we are asking him to man up and confess what he has done and take his punishment.
‘‘There can’t be any healing or forgiving until they accept their responsibility for their act.’’
Mr King-Mosen moved to Wellington from Rotorua four years ago to study hairdressing, his parents said. He spent his apprenticeship working at Shazly Experience Hair and Day Spa in Lower Hutt.
His boss Shazly Rasheed this week described how ‘‘gentle’’ he was: ‘‘He was such a happy person, he wouldn’t harm anyone. He probably wouldn’t even fight back . . . Honestly, he would have been so scared."
The 24-year-old had plans to head home to Rotorua for Christmas and was looking forward to seeing his family,
his mother Rangipaeroa said. The news her son had been killed came as a huge shock, after having spoken to him just hours earlier.
‘‘We couldn’t believe it – the night before, we were talking. Huri was excited about his future, he said he had put in leave to come home for Christmas.
‘‘We wanted to talk in depth about a couple of things, so we said we’d talk to him again at 8pm that evening . . .’’
But the parents never got the chance to speak to their son again. They called at 8 o’clock but did not get an answer.
Instead, they’re now planning their son’s funeral. ‘‘We’re just concentrating on burying our son,’’ his father said. ‘‘We’re letting the police do what they do, and they’re doing it very well. They’ve been nothing but sensational.’’
Mr King-Mosen’s body was to be driven home to Owhata Marae in Rotorua today, after a send-off by his friends in Wellington last night.