Jorgensen: dead man walking?

By SCOTT McLEOD

Missing Bassett Rd machinegun killer Ronald John Jorgensen is said to have brazenly mingled with thousands of people at a West Auckland farming show - despite being officially dead.

Police confirmed yesterday that a "very reliable" witness who knew Jorgensen for several years was sure that he saw him at the Kumeu Agricultural and Horticultural Show on March 11.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Bush said the sighting had made police think that Jorgensen lived nearby, but quiet inquiries among local criminals had so far proven fruitless.

Jorgensen and John Frederick Gillies were convicted of murder in 1964 after small-time criminals George Walker and Kevin Speight were sub-machinegunned in their flat in Remuera, Auckland.

But it was Jorgensen's strange disappearance after serving 18 years in jail that gave him his status in criminal folklore.

The last confirmed sighting of him was on December 17, 1984, a few days before his car was found smashed at the bottom of a seaside cliff south of Kaikoura.

A death certificate was issued two years ago despite unconfirmed sightings in Perth by a former schoolfriend and a Dunedin detective.

Police are keeping the identity of the Kumeu witness secret, but he is understood to have been a senior prison officer who is overseas.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bush said the man watched "Jorgensen" wandering around the showgrounds for several minutes and described him as tall and athletic.

The police probe had uncovered "absolutely zip," said Detective Senior Sergeant Bush. It was being treated as a low priority because Jorgensen was being hunted only for skipping parole.

The team that investigated the 1984 car crash was headed by Detective Inspector Neville Stokes, who retired three years ago.

Mr Stokes told the Herald from his Canterbury home yesterday that skid marks leading to the 20m cliff were made by the Ford Cortina accelerating rather than braking, which suggested a staged accident.

Police had spent much time pondering whether Jorgensen stowed away on a ship and fled overseas.

"It was quite clearly a staged death scene, either to cover up a murder or a disappearance.

"He was regarded by the criminal fraternity as a nuisance because he attracted heat, but we found no evidence of murder.

"It remains the most likely theory that he staged his own death."

But one of two lawyers who defended Jorgensen at his murder trial, Peter Williams, QC, is sure his friend was either murdered or committed suicide in the car smash.

"He stayed at my home for several days after he was released. I took him out on my boat and I've never seen a man so happy at sea - he was laughing in the rigging," Mr Williams said.

However, Jorgensen had otherwise been "very depressed and disoriented, and I definitely believe he is dead."

The Kumeu show secretary, Jeannette Straiton, said up to 65,000 people attended and it was a "very good place" to be anonymous.

She knew what Jorgensen looked like and would have recognised him if she had seen him - but she didn't.

Jorgensen is now aged 67 - if he is still alive.