The father of three suffered a violent death, police describing the homicide inquiry as a real "whodunnit" after scouring the property on the edge of State Highway 16 for evidence.
Parents Bruce and Sue fronted the media yesterday in an emotional appeal for clues and are confident the Helensville community where the McMurdo family have lived since 1918 holds the key to solving the murder.
"Lee died a violent death and, although he appeared to be on the wrong side of the tracks when he was killed, it wasn't always so," Bruce McMurdo said. "He fathered three wonderful children, was a skilled golfer and was well loved and liked by many. But, like many others these days, he got caught up in a drug scene and compromised all he'd worked for. That doesn't mean he deserved to die the way he did."
In an earlier interview with the Weekend Herald, Mr McMurdo described the "bloody good guy" who was his only son.
Lee McMurdo grew up with two older sisters as the fourth generation of the McMurdo family in the Parakai region, northwest of Auckland.
More interested in sports than textbooks, he left Kaipara College at 16 and, after rolling the golf course mower, started out as a panel beater.
A few years later, Bruce McMurdo had started his own "one-man band" trucking company and Lee wanted to join the family business. His father made him earn his apprenticeship at another trucking firm, before the pair worked together for several years.
By this stage, Lee was a father himself after the birth of a daughter with his childhood sweetheart.
Life was good. He bought the trucking business in 2005 and married his longtime girlfriend the following year. Two more children followed, now aged 2 and 3, and he worked hard, mostly freighting flowers to the Auckland markets.
But the global recession hit Bruce McMurdo's other business interests in 2008, forcing him to sell the family property and move to Australia.
The plan was always to come home to New Zealand. That plan has been brought forward with the shocking news of the murder.
The violent death capped off a tough year for the family. Lee McMurdo's marriage disintegrated at the end of 2010 and the trucking business folded a few months later.
"It's a complete shock the way he has gone... He would make friends with anyone; that was most important to him," said Bruce McMurdo.
"He would drop everything to help someone. Lee just didn't make enemies ... or so we thought."
He knew his son smoked cannabis, at first as pain relief for back injuries he suffered in a car accident he was lucky to survive.
But Detective Inspector Greg Cramer, officer in charge of the inquiry, said Lee McMurdo had made "lifestyle changes" in recent months.
"We know he was involved in the drug scene. We're still working along those inquiry lines," said Mr Cramer.
He said the Helensville community held the clues to solving the murder mystery.
The 32-year-old was last seen alive on Tuesday, July 26, and discovered on July 29. Police spent two weeks combing the Helensville property.
Of particular interest was missing property: a 50-inch LG plasma TV, a black wallet with Video Ezy and National Bank eftpos cards.
Mr Cramer urged anyone who found a wallet or acquired a cheap TV to come forward, even anonymously.
