Murder 'whodunnit' spurs pleas for help

Hemi Hohepa

Police say the murder of a Rotorua man remains "very much a whodunnit" three days after his body was discovered in the Whakarewarewa Forest.

Hemi Hohepa's body was found on Saturday afternoon among scrub in the popular forest, which is frequented by pedestrians, mountainbikers and tourists.

Police yesterday made renewed pleas for the public's help to find the 27-year-old's killer.

"We are very keen to speak to anyone who has come across discarded clothing or any form of knife in the Rotorua area since the early hours of Thursday morning," Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner said.

Mr Turner said an autopsy had found Mr Hohepa died of a single stab wound to the abdomen, but other details of his death remained a mystery.

Detectives were not sure where and when the 27-year-old was killed, or the motive for his murder, despite his having known gang ties.

"He was an associate of the Mongrel Mob in Rotorua but it's too early to say if there was any gang connection to it," Mr Turner said.

"[And] we are keeping an open mind on where the fatal wound may have been inflicted."

The time of death had yet to be established, but it was possible Mr Hohepa was stabbed in the early hours of Thursday.

It was also possible that he was murdered in another location and then dumped in the forest.

The body had been found at 2pm lying under scrub, but in a place Mr Turner described as fairly visible to passersby.

Thirty police are working on the case and spent yesterday continuing an area canvass of houses near the forest and in the neighbourhood where Mr Hohepa lived.

Mr Turner said the focus was on establishing his background, and particularly on determining his movements and contacts of the last few weeks.

Mr Hohepa had worked at a timber mill until recently, but was unemployed at the time of his death.

He lived in Rotorua most of his life, apart from a short stint in Australia, from where he returned a couple of years ago.

He was known to police, but only for "minor offending".

A scene examination also continued at the spot where the body was found. The body had been removed and taken to Tapuaeharuru Marae at Lake Rotoiti.

Mr Hohepa's father, Mike, who was at the marae, told the Herald the family were also not sure what had happened, but police had promised to keep them informed as inquiries unfolded.

He declined to comment further.

Mr Turner, who is head of Tauranga's criminal investigation bureau, said the murder had stretched police resources in Rotorua, where detectives were also dealing with another murder, on October 12, and the Nia Glassie case.

He and other officers had been brought in from Tauranga, Taupo and Tokoroa to help their Rotorua colleagues with the latest case.