WARNING: Contains content some people may find upsetting
The discovery of a woman's body in a burnt-out car has left residents of a Hawke's Bay rural settlement in shock. Neil Reid reports.
A fast-moving convoy of police cars shattered the peace of River Rd on Monday morning as officers rushed to the scene of the grisly find that has left local residents – and others in Hawke's Bay – both shocked and appalled.
Awaiting the officers were the remains of a woman in a burnt-out car that had been torched in the muddy and gravelly carpark near Havelock North; a carpark which on weekends is popular spot for dog walkers, people parking up before going on cycling excursions, and family groups picnicking.
The woman's body had been found jammed behind the driver's seat of the car by a dog walker on Monday, two days after police officers first visited the scene and assumed the body in the torched wreck was that of a "dead animal".
Today, police said the woman does not appear to have been reported as missing and were yet to identify her.
"I was at home on Monday when police fully responded to the body find," a local man told the Herald.
"Several police cars came down towards the River Rd carpark at speed. And then there were the forensics vehicles, a tarp set up over the area the car was, and police vans.
"We didn't know what was happening ... that was pretty scary to start with."
As police set up a cordon around the River Rd carpark, locals wanted answers.
But officers at the scene weren't giving anything away.
It wasn't until Monday night when police announced they had launched an investigation into an "unexplained death" that it was publicly confirmed a body was in the car.
"We were in shock when we found out ... very much so," a local woman, who did not want to be named, said.
"We have lovely neighbours here ... it has always been friendly here. I just can't believe someone could do that to another person."
Police – who are now reviewing their initial response – say it is too early to speculate on the person's identity or their cause of death.
The results of a post-mortem are not expected until Thursday.
But the dog walker who made the awful find told the Herald on Monday that he believed the woman had suffered multiple fractured bones and had been purposefully wedged in behind the car's driver's seat.
As shock reverberates through the community near some of Hawke's Bay's most prestigious vineyards, a long-time local man said his heart went out to the dead woman and her family.
"Our thoughts and comments would be the same for most New Zealanders ... just shock, it is appalling and terrible," he said.
"It is a tragedy for everybody concerned. We feel so much for the woman and her family."
He believed it was a "one-off incident" and was totally "out of character" for the place he proudly called home.
"It is a very quiet area, it's lovely," he said.
"There are hundreds of people who come by here on the weekend, they use the cycleway and use the river bank. It is very popular for families with kids ... mothers go past here with their babies in a pushchair.
"We have never, ever had any trouble. It's a nice lifestyle area."
The Herald first revealed that the dog walker who discovered the body says police who attended initially told him the remains were of a sheep.
He said the woman was wearing a silver chain around her neck and she had shoulder-length hair. He said it was obvious to him the remains were those "of a human" when he inspected the car.
He immediately called police and urged them to rush to the scene.
When officers arrived, he said they told him that they were already aware of the wreck and said that the remains were those of an animal.
"They sent someone down," he said. "They waltzed on down [to the carpark] and it was like, 'We have already heard about it. It is a sheep'.
"I lost it, I had already exposed her face, and said, 'Does a sheep have shoulder length hair? Does a sheep wear a necklace?'.
"That is when the two officers went and had a look and asked me to stand back."
Local wine-maker Dr Morton Osborne – a former clinical psychologist - said he was surprised the first police who had attended the scene "didn't do much of an inspection".
While the case was shocking, he didn't believe many locals were living in fear.
"From the information presented, she was [killed] ... [there's been talk about] broken bones and she has been rammed down the front seat of the car," he said.
"Someone in that position can't light a fire themselves. So that suggests a bit of targeting there.
"I think because of that targeting, that reduces the fear that people might have about going down there."
Osborne owns and operates Akarangi Wines; a boutique vineyard at the end of River Rd.
He spoke to one of the officers involved in a ground search around the carpark on Monday and told him there had been "unusual car activity" around the carpark over the past few weeks.
Osborne said that since the discovery, and then the establishment of a police cordon, there had been "lots of curious" from outside the close-knit area who have gone to look at the scene.
He believed the area was also being increasingly used as a hook-up spot for couples, as well as a location where drug deals were being done.
He said the carpark had a history of being a place where thieves would take stolen cars, "rarking" them up, before torching them.
On occasion he has had people knocking at his door at about 2.30am seeking help after getting stuck in the mud in and around the carpark.
His rural property had also been targeted by thieves, including break-ins of sheds and the taking of a trailer, stainless steel tank, chainsaws, and an arc welder.
"It is all the joys of living at the end of a no-exit road on the outskirts of town," Osborne, who has owned and operated Akarangi Wines since 1981, said.
"It is where people come and bring their surreptitious relationships out here. There have been times when I have had to pull out some notable locals who have been down there with a floozy and got themselves [their vehicle] stuck."
Police revealed earlier this afternoon that the woman is yet to be identified.
Officers had been looking at missing person's cases which may be relevant but detective inspector Dave De Lange said "at this early stage this has not assisted the investigation team".
"We want to find out who this woman is and speak with her family," De Lange said.
"This will be devastating news for them and we will be wrapping support around them once we know who they are."
Officers were carrying talking to locals and also reviewing available CCTV footage "as we seek to piece together what has led to this incident".
"We would ask anyone with information about who this woman may be to get in touch with police as soon as possible."
Yesterday, after the Herald revealed police first believed the remains were of a sheep, Eastern Police district commander Jeanette Park said police would be "reviewing" their initial response.
Park said the condition of the vehicle and debris from the fire meant staff did not immediately identify the human remains.
As both the police investigation into the body find, and a review into the first-up response, is carried out one local said he felt "very sorry" for the officers involved.
"We hear that they are understaffed across New Zealand," he said. "They rushed down here, probably got another phone call, and have to be somewhere else.
"I feel sorry for the police involved, and everyone involved."
He also felt sorrow for the dog walker who did what officers failed to do on Saturday and realise the charred body was that of a human.
"That's a very shocking and traumatising thing [to go through]."
They allege the Crown ignored Treaty obligations by not engaging with them.