Police say do not approach fugitives

Two men who fled Wairarapa after the brutal bashing of Glen Jones in Featherston should not be approached, police say.

Detective Inspector Sean Hansen said yesterday that Masterton man Kristofer Jones, 23, and Hayden Ranson, 27, of Hutt Valley, were believed to have fled the Wellington area for central or upper North Island.

He said the pair were wanted on charges of aggravated burglary relating to the death of Featherston supermarket worker Glen Jones, 40.

Mr Jones was discovered bloodied and unconscious in his Fitzherbert St unit about midnight on Friday and died in Wellington Hospital about five hours later of head injuries.

Mr Hansen said the two men were believed to have fled the greater Wellington area in a blue 1989 Mitsubishi Mirage, with the registration number OE7854.

"If anyone is harbouring these two they are committing a criminal offence and should immediately contact the police," he said.

Two women, aged 32 and 22, and a man, 28, all of Masterton, were given name suppression when they appeared in Masterton District Court yesterday on related charges of entering Mr Jones' home armed with a wooden bat and an axe handle intending to commit a crime. They did not plead and will appear again on Friday.

The three, wearing police issue boiler suits, bowed their heads and were silent throughout the brief hearing.

Sobs were heard to come from the dock.

There is a likelihood that further charges are pending.

Mr Hansen said police were unaware of any family or personal connection between the two wanted men and Glen Jones or between the pair and the three people who appeared in court.

He said six people had been interviewed so far as part of the homicide inquiry launched on Saturday. Members of the public had been vital to the investigation regarding sightings of a white car in Wairarapa and Wellington overnight on Friday.

Mr Hansen said police had recovered three items from an industrial property in Lower Hutt that were yet to be linked to the attack. He said a Featherston community patrol had seen suspicious activity and noted the registration number of a Commodore vehicle seen in the town on the night of the attack.

The information had been crucial to the investigation team.