Levin man accused of stealing 4WD

Police want to talk to whoever dumped this stolen Toyota Hilux beside the Ohau River on Monday. Picture / Mark Mitchell

The owner of a 4WD vehicle seized in connection with the Birgit Brauer murder case says it was stolen by his employee six weeks ago.

The Toyota Hilux is registered to Palmerston North man Brent Cleverley, who confirmed to the Herald yesterday that his vehicle had been taken by a man who worked for him.

The Herald understands the worker, who used the vehicle in his job cutting firewood, failed to turn up to work one day last month. He has not been seen since. Mr Cleverley, whose 4WD was taken for forensic tests, said he had been asked by police not to talk to the media.

His worker is understood to have grown up in the Himatangi/Foxton area but had recently spent time in the South Island before moving back to Levin. He is known by various names.

He is in his mid-30s and lived in Levin, about 4km from the Ohau River where the vehicle was found yesterday.

After it was discovered dozens of police officers, including forensic experts and a dive squad, arrived at the river bed to secure and examine the scene.

Last night Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward would not call the man a suspect in the killing of the German backpacker, but has confirmed police know his name and want to find him.

Last Friday police made inquiries about the ownership of the specific 4WD vehicle as part of routine inquiries to account for all dark grey or black Toyota Hiluxes, like the one Ms Brauer travelled in before her death last week.

Her body was found at Lucys Gully, near New Plymouth, on September 20. The 28-year-old had been stabbed and had head injuries.

Mr Coward, the head of the investigation, has repeatedly said the key to catching the killer lay in finding the mid-1980s Hilux Ms Brauer was seen getting into.

The one airlifted out of the Ohau River yesterday clearly matched the description. Retired schoolteacher Jenny Burnell, who lives on the farm which backs on to the riverbed, said the vehicle was dumped there on Monday night.

Her nephews saw its lights along a track on Miss Burnell's farm about 9.30pm. They investigated but did not find anything.

The vehicle was seen on the edge of the riverbed yesterday morning and reported to police, who used a helicopter to remove it from the water. Miss Burnell said it was an unusual place for the vehicle to be dumped as few people would know how to get there.

Taranaki helicopter company owner Alan Beck said police called for one of his heavy-lift Super Huey Iroquois helicopters.

"Our job was to lift it out because there were fears if the water suddenly rose they might lose valuable evidence," Mr Beck said.

Mr Coward said there was no evidence that the person who dumped the vehicle in the river was the murder suspect, but police would still like to talk to him.

"Obviously we want the person who stole that vehicle to come forward. That would be most helpful."

"Someone who's committed this crime would, in my view, be acting differently than they would beforehand. They have done something horrendous and they know it.

"I can assure you if someone knows who the killer is and they want to be treated confidentially, they will be treated with confidence."

Mr Coward said police had received many reports of vehicles matching the description of the one Ms Brauer was last seen in.

Several had been recovered, including three stolen ones.

Land Transport NZ figures show that almost 23,000 Toyota Hiluxes were registered in New Zealand between 1985 and 1990. Of those, 673 were in the Taranaki area.

Mr Coward said police had tracked sightings of the vehicle from Waitotara, where Ms Brauer was seen getting into a Toyota Hilux, to Lucys Gully, where her body was found. The vehicle had then been seen at Cardiff, near Stratford.

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