New twist in Carmen case

Carmen Thomas is believed to have been murdered. Photo / Supplied

Police have found missing sex worker Carmen Thomas' wheelie bin and are testing it for clues to her fate.

Detectives confirmed yesterday they discovered the recycling bin in Auckland on September 1.

It had been missing from the 32-year-old's home in Ngapuhi Rd, Remeura.

The Herald on Sunday has learned police are working on a line of inquiry that Thomas's body was cut up and dumped in several locations.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty would not comment on that information yesterday, nor would she say where the wheelie bin had been found.

"We still do not know where Carmen is or how many people have been involved in her disappearance, death and disposal."

She said the wheelie bin was being forensically tested.

Police said some weeks ago they believed she has been murdered after blood was found in her car.

She was last seen in June 27 at the Greenlane Countdown supermarket.

She was reported missing on July 13. There was an unconfirmed sighting of Thomas at a central city construction site on June 27.

Police have also questioned workers and taken away another wheelie bin for examination after a worker alerted police to a bad smell coming from it. Hegarty said the results of an examination were "unremarkable".

However it is believed the contents had been emptied when police took it away.

Last month police stopped vehicles around Whitford, quizzing drivers about a sighting of Thomas' car in the area in late June or early July.

The Nissan Pulsar hatchback was found in Hamilton. It had traces of her blood inside, the first confirmation that something serious had gone badly wrong.

Meanwhile, police "grilled" a woman for three hours about her relationship with Thomas' estranged partner, Brad Callaghan.

Jo Reid, 29, who lives in Tauranga, was contacted by police a couple of weeks ago and two officers were sent down from Auckland last weekend.

"It was quite a horrendous interview, they were really grilling me, asking lots of questions," she told the Weekend Herald.

"They obviously got the records from his phone."

"They were asking if I knew Carmen, just basically thought maybe I knew something ... If I knew if Brad had any friends outside of Auckland, and really grilling me. I had no idea. I don't know any of his mates outside of Auckland."

Reid said she and Brad Callaghan stopped seeing each other about a year and a half ago - after a seven or eight-month long-distance relationship - but had kept close.

Can you help?
Call 0800 KEPPEL (0800 537 735), email whereiscarmen@police.govt.nz or call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.