Police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods in a Kaikohe home invasion have released images of the items the killer left behind. Photos / Peter De Graaf / Police
Police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods in a Kaikohe home invasion have released images of the items the killer left behind. Photos / Peter De Graaf / Police
Police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods say they believe it started as a “sexually motivated burglary”.
Police were called to a Taraire St property in Kaikohe at 11.41pm on Thursday, after reports of an intruder being located inside the property.
Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston told the Heraldtoday police couldn’t confirm if the offender pulled out the dialysis tubes, as reported earlier, but there was “a physical struggle”.
“The exact mechanism of Linda’s death, that’s a matter that we’re still determining.”
On Sunday in a statement, Johnston said police now believe the incident to have started as a sexually motivated burglary.
“This belief is founded on a few key pieces of evidence gathered over the past few days. All occupants of the home are female, and we anticipate the offender has targeted the property for this reason.”
The offender was discovered hiding in one of the occupant’s bedrooms, and during the interview process the occupants told police of a “pattern of odd occurrences at the property” leading up to the incident.
“This includes clothing being discovered disturbed, and interference with sensor lights and porch light bulbs,” Johnston said.
“An incident was also reported at the property in 2022 which involved someone reaching in through a bedroom window.”
Police released a photograph of the back of the suspect from a brief video taken on a cellphone during the incident. Photo / Supplied, NZ Police
While police did not currently have evidence the incident was connected, it could not be ruled out, he said.
“As you can imagine, the circumstances of this incident have caused significant distress to the family involved, who also are grieving a much-loved family member. We commend them for the bravery they showed during the incident, and for the courage and resilience they have shown ever since while assisting us in our investigation,” Johnston said.
Police support would continue at this “unimaginably difficult time”.
“We know this information is going to cause alarm to the community and we want to reassure you that our primary focus is locating this offender as soon as possible.
“One important task our investigators are now undertaking is to look through reports of any incidents in the area over the past year that might fit the description of the ones outlined above.
“We are asking the community to remain alert, and we are also imploring you to come forward with any information you have. If you have experienced any disturbances at your property that are similar to what has been described and you have not reported these to police, we need you to get in touch. We also believe someone in the community will know the offender.”
Johnston said the offender would have returned to his home late on Thursday night without his jean shorts or size US13 shoes.
“His behaviour may have been noticeably different after this incident. The victims at this property were determined not to let this offender get away and held onto him, attempting to block his exit.”
Police released a photograph from a brief video taken on a cellphone during the incident.
“The video is very short and only captures the offender from behind, however from the still image you can get a good impression of the offender’s age, build and the style of his upper clothing.
“If you recognise this man, or if you know someone who matches the description of an older man aged 40-60, with short, grey-speckled, possibly curly hair, Māori or Polynesian and with a solid build, please, we need you to speak with us.”
Johnston told the Herald the footage was “distressing” for the victims to revisit.
“When the offender’s disturbed in the house the occupants have done their best to try and stop him from leaving, whilst they’re calling police at the same time, they have been on their phones and one of them has managed to press record, but it’s a very brief and shaky cellphone video from behind looking at the offender.”
He said the footage gave a good impression of the person’s likely age and build as well as his clothing. His shorts were ripped off during the struggle with the occupants, Johnston said.
As well as conducting door-to-door inquiries, police would now also be looking at previous incidents at the property to see if they were linked.
“We can’t conclusively link those to our offender on Thursday night, at this stage, but it is a concerning pattern so that leaves us to believes we need to do a lot more work investigating those previous incidents and looking for other similar incidents in the neighbourhood.”
He said the occupants of the home did not recognise the man.
Johnston had a message for the offender.
“What our investigation shows is that this man just wanted to leave the property, he may not have intended for anybody to be hurt, regardless of that, someone has been, and someone has passed away, and we need to investigate that and resolve. The best thing they can do is come forward and talk to us.”
Police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods in a Kaikohe home invasion have released images of the items the killer left behind. They include images of a pair of cut-off jean shorts. Photo / Police
The information comes after police released images of some shorts and shoes left behind by the intruder. Johnston said police hoped the images would jog someone’s memory from Thursday night, when Woods died in her home which she shared with four generations of her female whānau.
The offender’s shorts had come off during a struggle with the house occupants as he tried to flee.
A pair of shoes were also found placed on the ground outside the property, Johnston said.
“They are size US13 New Balance Versi Comfort Ride sneakers, colour dark grey and black.”
Police said the intruder was described as a male, Māori or Polynesian, aged somewhere between 40-60 years old, and solidly built.
Police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods in a Kaikohe home invasion have released images of the items the killer left behind. Photo / Police
“We have every confidence that someone in our Kaikohe community knows this man. We are urging you to do the right thing and come forward to us.
“Additionally, if you saw this man around the time of the incident and have any information about him or his movements, please also get in touch.”
The intruder had dark-coloured short hair speckled with grey, possibly, curly.
Linda Woods died while undergoing dialysis care when an intruder entered her Kaikohe home. Photo / Peter De Graaf
‘My daughters were there. They were the ones trying to fight him off’
The Herald earlier reported that Woods was killed in the Thursday night home invasion by an intruder.
She died after a struggle with the intruder, who then fled the Taraire St property barefoot, leaving his shoes behind.
Woods’ niece Shianne Maaka told the Herald the man beat Woods. She said Woods had a heart condition and diabetes.
“My daughters were there. They were the ones trying to fight him off,” Maaka said.
“I mean, they had to ... not only were they fighting for their lives and trying their hardest to deal with that man, then Auntie Linda goes in and they have to see him bashing her.
”[One daughter], she was the one that put the biggest fight up. They’re both not good at the moment. [One] is going through a breakdown, shaking and scratching. I’ve never seen it. She’s really traumatised.
”He was beating her up. She took a lot, you know, she took quite a bit of a beating. And then he rips the cords out.”
Some dialysis patients require a ventilator to help them breathe during treatment. This is because with each normal breath, the diaphragm drops. This pulls air into the lungs. But if the lungs are very damaged, air must be pushed in to fill them.
Maaka said she was now anxious walking down the street in case she saw the offender, and said she hoped police caught him soon.
”The eerie feeling around Kaikohe is he could be walking past us when we’re in town. We just don’t know. He could have just slotted back into society acting all civil.
”I wish he was caught. It would help with a lot of anxiety.”
Maaka said the support she and her family had received from the wider community was helping them cope.
”What’s sort of helped, though, is the amazing support. The community has really pulled together and has helped with a lot of ease, I suppose.
”We’re waiting for our other family members to arrive now. My auntie has been sent down to Auckland. We probably have to wait around for two weeks.
”Her house was always packed with all the cousins and she always had us and the girls. That was their nan.”
Police have set up a dedicated phone number so that anyone wanting to get information to investigators can do so quickly and easily. You can speak with someone from the investigations team by calling 0800 LINDAW (0800 546329), or on 105 if you can’t get through on the 0800 number. You can also share information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
