The man whose body was found with the hands cut off on the coast near Wellington at the weekend has been identified.
Police named him as 62-year-old Anthony Stanlake from Karori, a Wellington suburb.
Mr Stanlake was separated, has two adult children, and a female companion who does not live with him.
Mr Stanlake, known to family and friends as both Anthony and Tony, worked as a fireman for 23 years but was recently involved in property in the Wellington area. He was a volunteer with Victim Support for 18 months in the 1990s.
He and his female companion, a New Zealand woman, had returned home after holidaying in China during May.
A call from Mr Stanlake's companion to the Operation Red Rocks hotline number that provided the first real lead on his identity, detectives said.
Although the couple did not live together, they were in daily contact with each other. The woman became more concerned throughout the weekend when she couldn't contact him, and her fears increased on Sunday night and yesterday morning with media reports of the finding of a body at Owhiro Bay.
Detective Inspector Mike Arnerich, head of Wellington CIB's Operation Red Rocks, said police used palmprint details taken from a piece of skin on the remains of one of Mr Stanlake's hands to positively identify him. Family members were then traced in both New Zealand and overseas and advised of his death.
Mr Stanlake was convicted of two cannabis related charges in Wellington in 2001 but police do not know if there was any linkage between drugs and his violent death.
"We have a totally open mind on why Tony died and who was responsible," Mr Arnerich said.
"We have a huge inquiry task in front us, trying to trace Tony's movements, particularly in the last few weeks up until the time his body was found at Owhiro Bay on Sunday morning."
Police are now searching Mr Stanlake's house in Lancaster Road, Karori. Officers want to hear from anyone who has visited the house in recent weeks, or who has seen any suspicious activity in the area.
Mr Stanlake's hands, the weapons used in his death, and clothing are still to be found.
Police are continuing to search the Owhiro Bay beach area and now hope that scene will be opened to the public late on Wednesday. Officers will however continue to make regular shoreline checks throughout the week to see if anything of interest is washed up.
There is still no word from the driver of a dark blue or black Subaru Legacy four door saloon or similar vehicle which became stuck at the beach on Saturday night.
The vehicle was towed out by a group of local residents about 7pm. It is not known if the vehicle is linked in any way to Mr Stanlake's death but police would like to speak with the driver.
The Fire Service said nothing about Mr Stanlake's work history was recorded on the its database, but he was known to have worked in a number of Wellington stations including City station, Karori and Northland.
He is thought to have made the rank of station officer but had not been a firefighter for about ten years.
Mr Arnerich said establishing Mr Stanlake's identity was a vital breakthrough but police were still no closer to finding out why he died.
They also still want to know when he died and who was involved.
"Learning the identity of our victim opens up a raft of investigative avenues for police," Mr Arnerich said.
"A huge amount of information is however still unknown to us and we need the public's help more than ever to advance this investigation.
"We've been talking overnight and this morning with members of his family and a close female friend to find out more about Tony, his interests, people he worked with or socialised with.
"This is a very distressing time for these people as they try to come to terms with the brutal death of someone close to them."
Police are appealing for people who know Mr Stanlake, his friends, business associates, his Karori neighbours or anyone who has had any dealings with him to urgently contact the inquiry team.
* Anyone with information should contact police through the Operation Red Rocks hotline on 0508 733 762 or contact the Wellington CIB on (04) 381 2000.
- HERALD ONLINE STAFF
Wellington murder victim identified
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