Love interest charged in mum’s motel death
The family of a young mother killed in an Invercargill motel room found out about her death when an acquaintance messaged her sister asking if they knew she had been murdered.
A homicide investigation started after police officers found the body of Azalia Wilson in a unit at the Bavarian Motel on North Rd, in Waikiwi, about 11am on Sunday. They went there after a concerned person contacted them.
Police said yesterday a 31-year-old man had been charged with murder. The man, who was her love interest, was granted interim name suppression in the Invercargill District Court yesterday afternoon.
The man appeared before Judge Russell Walker and was remanded in custody to reappear on December 10.
Wilson’s father, Tony Wilton, said yesterday that his daughter received a message on Sunday morning from another woman asking ‘‘is it true?’’.
‘‘My daughter said ‘is what true’, and she said that Azalia had been killed. So from there Azalia’s mum and my youngest took that information to the police on Sunday morning and from there the investigations started.’’
Wilton said there had been speculation a video of Wilson had been sent to an acquaintance on Saturday evening, followed by an anonymous call to police with concerns for her safety.
He said police then checked a couple of properties associated with the accused man, including a relative’s home, but could not find any evidence Wilson had been attacked.
Wilson’s mother told police the next morning that her daughter was staying at a motel with the man that weekend. Police then searched motels for the pair.
‘‘He wasn’t allowed to stay at Azalia’s mum’s place . . . [she] didn’t like him,’’ Wilton said.
Wilton said it was unclear where Wilson’s 4-month-old baby was when she was killed, but police later found the child at the relative’s home.
‘‘The only thing that’s factual is we know Azalia is dead and that her injuries were horrific,’’ Wilton said.
‘‘It’s not the natural order of life, my children are supposed to bury me, I’m supposed to be dying first.’’
His daughter was a ‘‘beautiful, bubbly person’’.
The 22-year-old had been an aunt for many years and loved children.
‘‘Her time had come and she had a baby and now that baby’s mum has been taken away from her.’’
Southland area commander Inspector Mike Bowman said on Monday the suspect was considered ‘‘dangerous’’ and should not be approached.
Specialist investigators were continuing to work at the motel and police were providing support to Wilson’s family.
Stuff spoke to Wilson in 2016 after a fire broke out in her Invercargill home. She noticed flames, alerted her mother and nephew to get out and saved a kitten, Fanta, as she fled the house.
Bowman said police wanted to hear from anyone who saw any unusual activity or suspicious vehicles in the Fosbender Park and Oreti River areas, near Dunns Rd, between about 3.30am and 9am on Sunday. Police also wanted to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the North Rd area, between Weka St and West Plains Rd, between 9pm on Saturday and 9am Sunday.
‘‘It’s not the natural order of life, my children are supposed to bury me, I’m supposed to be dying first.’’ Tony Wilton
Azalia Wilson’s father