Victim 'dragged down by his lifestyle'

Dean Browne. Photo / Supplied

When Dean Browne's former girlfriend heard he had been murdered and dumped in a New Plymouth garage, she knew his lifestyle had finally caught up with him.

The couple had a short relationship that ended when she called police after he became violent and assaulted her.

The 38-year-old had been due in court last year to answer that charge, and one of breaching a protection order, but he never showed up and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

Police appealed for the public's help but there was no sign of him until his body was found dumped, seemingly at random, in a double garage in a quiet New Plymouth street last Friday night.

Karl Te Angiotu Nuku, 18, and Mikhail Rafael Pandey-Johnson, 23, appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday charged with his murder and illegal possession of a firearm.

Their arrests ended an intense manhunt by armed police for the pair in the Lake Mangamahoe area off State Highway 3, between New Plymouth and Inglewood.

A third man, Rhys Fournier, 22, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

The former partner, who asked not to be named, said last night she was sad "for what could have been".

"The lifestyle he lived, it was only going to end one way. I was definitely sad when I heard, sad for his mother and his family. I really feel sorry for his parents. My thoughts were with them today. No parent should have to bury their baby."

She said Mr Browne had the potential to be a nice guy but was "attracted to a bad scene" and had ultimately been "dragged down by his lifestyle".

She discovered the news when her mother read about it.

"I woke up at 6.30am this morning and my mum told me.

"I was shocked when I found out, I was hysterical."

Police believe Mr Browne was killed elsewhere before being dumped in Drake St and found by a young mother.

"We know that he was bashed and tied and secured and dumped in the shed. We are still trying to piece together why he was taken to that address and where the bashing occurred and a number of other factors in relation to Mr Browne," Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward said.

The three men are believed to be from Auckland, but their connection to Mr Browne, and the circumstances around his death, were still unclear, he said.

An autopsy has been done but police have not revealed the cause of death and say they are still trying to establish what the trio's movements were.

Mr Browne would have left the Auckland area some time in October.

Mr Coward said the arrested men were spotted by a detective as they drove along Drake St and were followed.

The occupants of the house, a young mother and her three children, have left the house.

The house owner had not spoken to her last night and was unsure where she was. He thought the police had found somewhere for her to stay while forensic teams combed the property.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA