the farm house where the bodies were found. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A note was found at the scene of an apparent murder-suicide in which three people died near Feilding in the Manawatu.
Police have named the three people found dead on Monday in the house on the outskirts of the town as Desmond Vincent Winnie, 65, his wife, Deborah Honeyfield, 51,
and her father, Ian Ray Honeyfield, 86.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Sheridan, heading the investigation, said a note was found at the Lees Rd house, where a visitor stumbled on the bodies about 10.20am on Monday.
He would not reveal its details, nor would he say if any sort of firearm had been recovered.
"There is a note, but it is important that we talk to the families about it first," Mr Sheridan said.
The three bodies were removed from the property late yesterday.
Autopsies were being done today and would continue tomorrow, while police continued their scene examination.
Police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths and there was no risk to public safety, Mr Sheridan said.
Death has struck four times around the small Manawatu town in the past six weeks. The discovery of the bodies comes after last month's still unsolved murder of farmer Scott Guy, 31; the deaths of pilot Jessica Neeson, 27, and her student Patricia Smallman, 64, in an air collision near Feilding Aerodrome; and this month's death of Feilding-raised soldier Tim O'Donnell, 28, in Afghanistan.
A memorial gathering in the town will take place on Friday after requests from residents.
Prime Minister John Key has shared his sympathies with the residents of Feilding in the wake of the latest horrific incident to rock the town.
"I was only in Feilding recently and I felt then the pain the community was already feeling. I can only imagine how much this latest tragedy has made this worse," Mr Key told the Manawatu Standard.
"My thoughts and feelings are with the whole community and particularly the friends and relatives of those close to this most recent sad event."
- NZPA
