Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Uncertainty surrounds local crimefighter's death

By Natalie Dixon and Amy McGillivray
Bay of Plenty Times·
2 Dec, 2013 09:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Police investigators scour the scene where Lance Scullin died o Sunday morning. Photo/John Borren.

Police investigators scour the scene where Lance Scullin died o Sunday morning. Photo/John Borren.

Neighbourhood watch co-ordinator Lance Scullin was always willing to step in if there was trouble in his street.

Members of his grieving family fear this willingness to confront troublemakers may have cost him his life.

On Saturday night he went out to help when there was a disturbance in his street. Hours later he was dead.

The 50-year-old father-of-three's body was found by neighbours in the backyard of his Merivale property at 10am on Sunday. Twelve hours earlier he had been assaulted with a fence paling by a group of youths fighting outside his home after he tried to break up an altercation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner told the Bay of Plenty Times police were called but Mr Scullin did not want to lay a formal complaint.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Police patrolled the area and spoke to several witnesses in the vicinity and in neighbouring streets where there were a number of parties," Mr Turner said.

"Unfortunately we are still trying to piece together exactly what happened between 10pm that night and 10am the following morning when Mr Scullin was found by his neighbours."

Police said the assault and Mr Scullin's death might not be connected but urged the community to help identify the group of eight or more youths involved in the attack.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They are also seeking a chunk of the brown wooden fence paling, yanked from a neighbouring property before the assault, saying it might be the piece of the puzzle they need to decipher what happened that night.

Mr Scullin's former partner yesterday was receiving counselling at the Merivale Community Centre, just metres from where he lost his life.

Outside, devastated friends and extended family spoke of a caring and compassionate man with a big heart, who was focused on creating a safer environment in his neighbourhood. One free from the grip of gangs and violent crime.

Sister-in-law Kamira Walker yesterday described Mr Scullin as a man who would have done "anything for anyone, any time of the day or night".

Discover more

Editorial: Salute to our unsung heroes

03 Dec 09:42 PM

Another arrest as man farewelled

05 Dec 08:43 PM

Gang patch ban and $2000 fine proposed for Tauranga suburbs

13 Mar 08:05 PM

She said his willingness to help may have cost him his life.

"If you needed him, he was there," she said. "He was the go-to guy for the whole neighbourhood.

"His house was a safe house no matter who you were, he always had a spare bed and you knew you were welcome. He had such a big heart and he was loved by so many people."

Ms Walker said her brother-in-law was extremely security conscious and wanted his children to be safe and happy.

"In fact, he wanted that for everyone in his community," she said.

"Which is probably why he left his house to see if anyone was in trouble, to see if anyone needed his support, even if it got him in trouble." Merivale Community Centre services manager John Fletcher said Mr Scullin's death was a massive shock for the community. He said many people were angry.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Mr Scullin kept an eye on what was going on in the community and often challenged people who were causing trouble," Mr Fletcher said.

"He was like our unofficial security guard."

Mr Fletcher said the centre encouraged people to make a positive difference in their street and Mr Scullin did.

"Not a lot of people in the community will challenge bad behaviour," he said.

"The sad thing is that there are few people who are prepared to stand up and say, 'I want things to be better' and when this happens to one of them it's just a disaster."

One of Mr Scullin's friends, Lana Taupo, called him a "great man and a great dad".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He was strict with the kids if they stepped outside the boundaries but at the same time if he could think of a way to make the day fun, he would.

"He loved this neighbourhood and he wanted it to be safe for his babies, for everyone's babies," she said.

"He was well respected here and will be sorely missed."

Mr Scullin's death is not yet being treated as a homicide. A post-mortem examination in Auckland yesterday was inconclusive.

Police said they are unsure if Mr Scullin's body was taken to his property or if he managed to get home himself, perhaps after a second assault, and are unwilling to talk in detail about the group of youths.

Mr Turner told the Bay of Plenty Times "ongoing forensic testing" might determine the cause of Mr Scullin's death.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said Mr Scullin had always supported his community and now he hoped that community would support the police in their investigation to find out how he died.

Mr Turner said police had found part of the brown wooden fence paling that had been used to assault Mr Scullin but there was a portion missing.

"We are asking people in the area to check their back yards and see if they can find it," he said. "We would also like help to identify the group of youths that were involved in the incident outside Mr Scullin's home.

"We are unsure if the incident is connected to Mr Scullin's death but we need all the information we can get going forward."

There will be a community meeting at the Merivale Community Centre tomorrow at 1pm, when the police will update the community on the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Tauranga Police on 07 577 4300.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Information can also be provided anonymously to the Crimestopper's line on 0800 555 111.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Sea pods revitalise Tauranga waterfront with marine habitats

07 Jul 08:19 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Sea pods revitalise Tauranga waterfront with marine habitats

Sea pods revitalise Tauranga waterfront with marine habitats

07 Jul 08:19 PM

Tauranga installed 100 'sea pods' in May 2024 to boost marine habitats.

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM
'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP