Murdered woman's husband left note

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX South Island correspondent

It was soon after 6.30 on Thursday morning when a car screamed into Dunedin's Ettrick St and turned sharply into a driveway.

The Otago Daily Times paper boy had almost finished his rounds in the street when he saw a man get out and head inside the brick-and-tile house. The front door opened and slammed again.

Later, as he was getting ready for school, his mother told him about the tragic double stabbing in Ettrick St. Shocked, the boy told her what he had seen and his mother quickly called the police.

It is one of many strands of information officers are using to piece together what led to Kelvin Mercer, 32, being found burning, his estranged wife and baby stabbed to death.

Wendy Mercer, 34, and 6-month-old Will died from their injuries. Will's life ended quickly - a single stab wound as he lay in his cot.

Mrs Mercer was repeatedly stabbed before her body was covered with an accelerant and set on fire as it lay in the hallway. Police say the knife that was used had been brought on to the property.

Mr Mercer works as a butcher for the PPCS meat-processing company, working at both the Silverstream and Burnside plants boning carcasses.

A tight-knit group of Dunedin friends are speculating that Mr Mercer was trying to end his own life.

He was on fire when police arrived at the house, and he had left a note at his flat.

It was a tragic end to what friends say was a "desperate" man's domestic turmoil.

His other children, Crytalynn, 3, and Aurial, 5, were taken to a neighbour's house by their father before emergency services were called.

Both were injured and will remain in hospital over the weekend but police say they are recovering well.

Family spokeswoman Kim Dougherty, the dead woman's sister-in-law, said family were gathering in Dunedin from as far away as Australia, and someone was staying with the children in hospital 24 hours a day.

Wendy and Kelvin Mercer had separated in August, several months before Will was born.

The separation was difficult and the couple argued over custody.

Police were twice called to the Ettrick St home, once to mediate in a "property dispute" in late August, then again in December to sort out a custody issue.

The circumstances of the separation led Mrs Mercer to take a non-molestation order out against her husband. Last night, police were waiting for a district court judge to give them access to court records to determine why.

One News reported that Mrs Mercer's family had just installed an alarm system at her home and were even considering having someone stay with her and the children at night.

Mrs Dougherty said Mrs Mercer had emergency escape plans for her children to save them from a feared confrontation with Mr Mercer.

She said the children had been told to go to neighbours they knew, and how to phone police.

After Mr Mercer moved out of the family home he stayed with relatives in Mosgiel.

Last night, police said his "flatmates" had found the note he left.

While some friends said the separation had made Mr Mercer "desperate", his wife was moving on with her life.

She ran a successful distribution business from home - Creative Kiwi Connections - selling natural cosmetic products all over the country.

She had a new boyfriend - so new that some friends knew only his first name and that "he was making her happy". It was this boyfriend who made the frantic 111 call on Thursday morning after receiving a call from Mrs Mercer.

The call ended abruptly, causing him "grave concern", the police said.

He is said to be distraught.

Yesterday friends of Mr Mercer expressed shock at the events, saying he was a devoted father who would have done anything to keep his family together.

Massey Tamati, a friend of 20 years, said he had not known the jujitsu-trained Mr Mercer as a violent man. He had never seen him strike any of his family, or even yell at his wife.

He said Mr Mercer had smoked marijuana before he met Wendy, but had cut down when he married and "gave up altogether" to show he should continue to have access to his children.

Jo Daggar said she was also a friend of the Mercers and that the tragedy had hurt "more people around here than anyone can imagine".

"He is an attentive father, very devoted, and I've never seen him display a temper.

"He had so many people around him who loved him, and who loved his family, and that is a testament to the kind of person he is."

Mr Mercer is in a drug-induced coma in Middlemore Hospital, where he was transferred yesterday from Christchurch Hospital.

He is receiving treatment for the burns he suffered to most of his body. Doctors fear he may not survive to face charges.

- additional reporting: NZPA