Homicide probe as police comb blood-soaked scene

Police cordon off Mansfield St in Ohauiti after a body was found lying near a driveway. Photo / George Novak

Blood drenched an Ohauiti lawn where a young man in his late teens was found lying lifeless.

"There was blood everywhere," said Ryan McIntyre, who was alerted to the body on his Mansfield St property at 8.30am yesterday when he heard a neighbour ringing St John Ambulance.

Police have launched a homicide investigation.

Mr McIntyre said he saw the body in a pool of blood on the lawn of his home that fronts a driveway shared by three other houses.

"It was a bit shocking to say the least," he said of the scene that confronted him.

The man was hunched over on the ground and Mr McIntyre could not see any visible wounds.

He said the neighbour was the first to respond because she looked directly across to his front lawn.

St John paramedics immediately called the police.

Mr McIntyre said the young man was not someone known to him or his neighbours.

Although there was talk of a party, he had not heard a party going on.

Police told him to leave the property until they had finished their scene examinations and he was unsure when he would be allowed home.

The cul-de-sac was cordoned off to allow a team of about 30 police officers to continue their scene examination and investigation.

By mid-afternoon forensic scientists in blue overalls paced a path from the house and along the road toward the far end of the street.

It was unclear what the Western Bay man's injuries were or how long he had been lying near the driveway before he had been discovered.

A post mortem examination was to be carried out this morning to establish the cause of death.

Police believe the young man had been at a nearby party the previous night.

There were no calls to the party address or reports of any trouble at the house, but police did attend a report of a stabbing some distance away near the intersection of Welcome Bay Rd and Ohauiti Rd - opposite the Palmers Garden Centre - at 12.30am.

Police inquiries suggested the dead man was not at that location nor involved in that incident but police were looking at possible links between the two events. One man received hand and facial injuries during the second incident; he was treated at hospital and discharged.

Anxious residents yesterday waited at the cordon for some time for word of when they could return to their homes. Several commented online they heard loud yelling - including a man's screams - on Saturday night.

It was a bit shocking to say the least.

Ryan McIntyre

One resident, who would not be named, said he was not surprised to find ambulances and police cars on the street yesterday morning.

"It used to happen quite often but it's changed a lot in recent years. It's been better."

A young man waiting at the cordon said he was concerned for his cousin, who had hosted a party the night before and he had not been able to make contact with him since.

Another man, who arrived later in the day, said the party was a family gathering.

One man, taking his toddler daughter for a ride on a child's tricycle, said the party was for his friend's birthday.

The man, who would not be named, said he did not attend but said "bad things always seem to happen to good people".

Police said their focus will be to speak to all partygoers, identify any other witnesses and complete the scene examination.

Police cordon off Mansfield St in Ohauiti after a body was found lying near a driveway. Photo / George Novak