Dumped body linked to crime spree

A woman found dead outside a Waikato hospital is believed to have been struck by a motorist who was then allegedly abducted and bashed by her friends in a bizarre crime spree that spanned three districts yesterday.

The 18-year-old’s family are said to be ‘‘devastated‘‘ after her body was found dumped at the entrance to Pohlen Hospital, Matamata, about 4am. Her injuries were consistent with a crash, police have said. Shortly after the grisly discovery, police arrested the woman’s friends in Papakura, Auckland, about 4.30am.

The pair, a 30-year-old man and 23-year-old woman, both from Tauranga, appeared in the Manukau District Court late yesterday jointly charged with kidnap, injuring with intent, aggravated robbery and stealing a car, all in connection with a series of events surrounding the woman’s death.

They were granted interim name suppression until their next court appearance tomorrow.

Tauranga police Detective Senior Sergeant Lew Warner said the two people facing charges and the dead woman, also from Tauranga, were known to each other.

While police were still trying to piece together exactly what happened, Mr Warner said they believed the problems began at 3am when a 32-year-old Tauranga man driving his silver Toyota Prado over State Highway 29 (the Kaimai Range) hit a person, believed to be the 18-year-old woman, who was on the road.

He stopped immediately but was then pulled from his vehicle and assaulted before being put back into his car and abducted.

He escaped when the vehicle was stopped a short time later.

He found help and was treated for head injuries.

At 4am, security staff discovered the dead woman outside the hospital. It is believed she was dropped off there, possibly by the two people facing charges.

Neighbours across the road from the hospital said they were woken by arguing and a car taking off early in the morning.

Soon after, police also found a silver Nissan Wingroad stationwagon at the scene of the abduction. The Nissan was stolen from Tauranga Hospital on Tuesday.

Mr Warner said the dead woman’s injuries were ‘‘consistent with a crash’’ but an autopsy today would establish exactly when and how she died

‘‘However, at this stage we are working on the belief that a chain of events began when the stolen stationwagon broke down or ran out of petrol in the Kaimai Ranges leaving the offenders stranded,’’ he said. ‘‘The woman has a number of injuries and we need to wait until the conclusion of the post mortem before we can establish definitively whether she was the person who was struck by the Toyota on SH29.’’ Mr Warner said it was not yet known whether the driver of the Toyota Prado would face charges.