‘I’ve been called a murderer’: Person of interest in Auckland car death speaks out in exclusive interview

Joseph Hart, 41, died after what police are calling a "vehicle incident" at Victor Eaves Park in Ōrewa, north of Auckland.

The Auckland woman present when Joseph Hart suffered fatal injuries in mysterious circumstances in an Ōrewa carpark claims his death was a tragic accident. But many of those who knew Hart hold her responsible. George Block reports.

When Auckland mum Sarah (not her real name) walked down to the shops from her Stanmore Bay home, someone took her picture and uploaded it to Facebook with “murderer” scrawled in red lettering across the photo.

That reflects a widespread sentiment among some of those on the Hibiscus Coast who knew Joseph Hart.

The 41-year-old was a popular local identity remembered for his mechanical aptitude, generosity and colourful personality.

Hart suffered critical injuries in an incident involving a vehicle in a carpark at Victor Eaves Park in Ōrewa in the early hours of Saturday, January 7.

That night, he and Sarah had arrived in separate cars to meet up at the sports ground amid what she claims were difficulties in their turbulent relationship.

Joseph Hart, pictured in the year before his death. Photo / Supplied

What is known is that Hart somehow ended up under one of the cars that night, suffering serious and ultimately fatal fractures and other injuries.

At some stage during the night, it is believed he was working on one of the cars.

Police will not comment on various theories regarding how he died, including whether a car somehow fell on him while he was working underneath it.

Sarah said she did not want to go into the circumstances of what exactly happened to Hart, except to say it was an accident.

Hart died in hospital the following day.

Four weeks on, the death is the subject of a major police investigation.

No one has been arrested or charged.

Detectives from the Waitematā CIB are now working with Serious Crash Unit specialists to probe what happened, which police described in their public statements as a “vehicle incident”.

It is understood CCTV footage from the nearby Ōrewa Sharks clubrooms is unlikely to have captured much or any of the incident.

The Herald tracked down Sarah at the home she shares with her young children in north Auckland to seek her response to allegations she was responsible for Hart’s death.

She agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity. The Herald has used a pseudonym.

Hart and Sarah had been in what she described as a toxic relationship for several years, she said.

“I just want to say it was an accident, and I feel like I’ve been unfairly treated by everybody on the coast for their various scenarios that they think happened, and that is not the truth.

“The truth is that it was an accident and I loved him dearly.

“I’ve been called a murderer on social media.”

One person on Facebook said she should do everyone a favour and kill herself. Another said she should be locked up in jail.

Some in the community who knew Hart claimed she wanted him dead, she said.

Asked why she and Hart were meeting up in a car park so late, Sarah said she had been out in Helensville to get some fish for a friend, a task she did not complete until 10pm.

“And then he messaged me, asking to meet up with them. And so by the time I got from Helensville over to him, it was about midnight.”

She then left again to pick up some washing from a laundromat, before meeting back up with Hart, she said.

“We were just chatting and talking.

“We had a very up-and-down relationship. I believe he was cheating on me with someone else. So we were kind of talking … going over that scenario.

“I tried everything I could to try and help him. I mean I rang 111, I tried to lift the car … It wasn’t enough.”

Sarah said there was a delay in calling emergency services because she did not have a sim card in her cell phone.

“So I had to run down the road to his friend’s place to try and get somebody to help,” she said.

She strongly rejected allegations circling in the community that Hart had been dragged for several metres by a car.

“That’s bulls***.”

Sarah said their two vehicles were initially positioned at one end of the carpark before being moved “for better light to work on the cars”.

She tried to call police on her inactive cell phone about 3.10am before running to Hart’s friend’s house a short way down the road, she said.

After his death, she was interviewed by police for three hours.

“I was beside myself.”

Her car was seized for an examination before being returned to her, she said.

Sarah said she was not allowed to visit the hospital to see Hart and could not attend his funeral.

She had also not been able to speak to his family. Asked what she would say, she said: “That I’m so, so, so sorry.

“I have to … live with this. I think about him every day, I love him, I miss him. I wish that I never went and met up with him that night.”

The Herald also approached family members of Hart. They politely declined to comment, saying they had been asked not to speak publicly by police who had said it could compromise their investigation.

A police spokeswoman said inquiries continue, and could take some time.

“CIB are working with [the] Serious Crash Unit to understand the circumstances of the death.

“It will take time for expert analysis to be completed and police will update when there is further information available.”