Grisly murder sparks Ngawi police search

POLICE investigating a gruesome murder, sparked by the discovery of the body of an elderly man with his hands hacked off and his head partly severed, searched boat ramps at Ngawi yesterday as they hunted in vain for clues.
The body was found washed up on the south Wellington coast yesterday morning, with no indication of who he was or how he got there.
Detective Inspector Harry Quinn, of Wellington, who is heading the inquiry, said police were "becoming more confident" that the body was taken in a vehicle to Owhiro Bay and then "dumped in the water".
"We can't ignore, however, that he may have been placed in the water elsewhere," he said.
He said the victim would have bled profusely from his injuries and the killing scene could have been in a house, building, street or some other property including a boat or vehicle.
As a result, police carried out searches of boat ramps and jetties from Ngawi to Levin for signs the body might have been there at some stage.
"We don't know when the murder occurred but I am confident wherever it occurred there will be huge quantities of blood," Mr Quinn said.
He said the man suffered a severe beating about the head, had his neck partially severed and his hands cut off before being dumped.
Detectives investigating the murder of the as-yet unidentified man in his 60s found at the bay by a walker shortly before 8.30am yesterday say the cause of the man's death has yet to be established.
Preliminary results from a post mortem last night revealed that his "horrific injuries included a severe beating to his head in addition to the mutilation".
Police said the body was naked from the waist up and the feet were lightly tied together.
He was clean shaven, with grey wispy hair and a bald to heavily receding hairline. He was of light to medium build, weighed 84kg, was 179cm tall.
When found he was wearing black leather slip on style shoes, heavy black socks, and black trousers with a light stripe in them.
He also wore a black belt with a badge bearing the words Dunhill set into the buckle.
"The victim had extensive trauma to the head caused by a battering implement of some description," Mr Quinn said.
"We're looking for this weapon, and sharp cutting instruments such as a large knife, a machete or a small sword."
Mr Quinn said "this is a brutal and macabre murder. The extent of the victim's injuries has shocked a lot of people. We want the victim identified and we want to find whoever killed him."
After the body was found police closed off the coastal track from the Owhiro Bay quarry to Red Rocks ? one of Wellington's most popular walking and cycling tracks. Normally hundreds of people use the track during the weekend enjoying the coastal scenery and visiting the nearby seal colony.
Yesterday the western side of Owhiro Bay was taken over by a police forensic team while police dive squad members scoured the seabed ? looking especially for the mystery man's hands.
Mr Quinn would not speculate on why the man's hands had been severed. While it sparked memories of the Mr Asia murder of 1979, drug connections were only one possibility, he said. ? NZ Herald, NZPA