By Rachel Tiffen, Natalie Bridges and Sandra Conchie
Two people were killed and two others seriously injured after a domestic incident in suburban Tauranga last night.
It is Tauranga's second double homicide in less than two months.
Police were called to Mansel Rd and found the body of a 33-year-old female and two badly injured males, aged 44 and 33.
The dead woman is understood to have had three children, who were not at the scene of the incident.
The 44-year-old Tauranga man is now in a serious condition in Tauranga Hospital.
Ten minutes later, a nearby resident found another gravely injured person on their property.
That man, who has yet to be identified, died there shortly after.
Inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner said the two dead and two injured people were believed to have been involved in the same domestic incident.
A 33-year-old Waikato man had been charged with possession of a knife and was under police guard in Tauranga Hospital.
The killings have stunned neighbours who today told the Bay of Plenty Times of a loud and violent domestic incident escalating out of control.
Tracey Henderson, whose husband was one of numerous people to dial 111, woke to the sounds of screaming.
She heard a man's voice yelling: "I love you. This didn't need to happen because I love you." The woman was heard to scream: "What about the babies?"
Paul Wilson and his daughter Marisha, who live nearby, said they heard frightened shouts and pleas.
"I heard screaming at around 10pm. Someone was saying 'What are you doing this for, I love you," said Mr Wilson.
Lamafana Manu, who lives around the corner from the scene, was returning home about the same time yesterday evening.
He also heard arguing and saw several cars screeching up and down the road.
One man stood shell-shocked in the road this morning after finding out the 33-year-old dead woman was likely to be a cousin.
"I saw the police and I went into my cousin's house and the police told me to stay on the road."
The man, who lives nearby, raced to see what was going on after he heard arguing and screaming between 10pm and 10.30pm.
But until this morning he had not realised it was likely his cousin had been killed, because police refused to release information to him at the scene last night.
The man said his cousin lived with her sister and her sister's baby and that she had recently started seeing a new boyfriend, who was at the house when the arguing broke out.
The mood in Mansel Rd was sombre after residents woke this morning to the news that their quiet street has become a double-murder scene.
A police cordon has been in place at both ends of the cul-de-sac and today police were going door-to-door within the cordon, talking to residents.
One Mansel Rd resident, who did not wish to be named, said she had lived in the street for more than 10 years and the incident was totally out of left field.
"It's totally spooked me. It is totally out of left field. Apart from some boy-racers this street is generally pretty quiet.
She called the police last night after she heard screams of fear, first from a woman and then a man's voice.
The woman said the 111 dispatcher told her that they already fielded numerous calls from concerned neighbours and police were on the way.
Detectives and other police experts today focused on scene examinations, interviewing residents and making background inquiries.
Mr Turner ruled out any gang involvement and said no drugs were found at the scene.
In the city's other recent double homicide, Bay truck driver Anthony Paul Doyle is remanded in custody for pre-deposition hearings on February 14 in relation to the double killing of Omokoroa couple Mikaere O'Sullivan and Toni-Anne Nathan under the Wairoa Bridge on October 31.
Bay of Plenty Times
