Police have discovered DNA at the Kaikohe home where dialysis patient Linda Woods died that officers believe is linked to the man they are seeking over the homicide.
“This is a significant piece of evidence, and allows us to begin a new phase of our investigation,” Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston said.
Johnston told Newstalk ZB said the DNA has allowed them to get a profile, which means they can now attempt to match it to the community.
“We already know that this, the person who left this DNA sample behind isn’t on the National DNA Data Bank,” Johnston said.
Police will begin to test suspects and will be going door-to-door in the community.
Johnston said police had a “pool of suspects” from the numerous tip lines established.
“Then there’s some other information that they have been able to provide to us, some genetically important information,” Johnston said.
“So that will help us narrow our focus as to who we might go and request a DNA sample from, but generally it’s through door-to-door inquiries in the community.”
Depending on how large the pool of suspects is, Johnston said the process to find the offender could take months.
“But, you know, we’re really confident that we’re going to be able to identify the offender because this is a very, very, very useful piece of forensic evidence and we’ll get there eventually,” Johnston said.
“We are determined to find this offender so we can get some answers for the victim’s family, and put the community’s minds at rest.
“Police are now making plans to request DNA samples from men who fit the age range and description of the offender so we can eliminate them from our inquiries.”
Johnston urged the offender to hand himself in.
“We are confident we will identify you at some point. You can lessen the impact of your actions by coming forward now.
”It’s the right thing to do for this family, who have already suffered so much. It’s the right thing to do for our community, who are rightly alarmed after this incident. We are ready to talk to you – just come forward.”
The mayor of the Far North says the revelation that Woods’ death in Kaikohe may have begun as a “sexually motivated burglary” is “highly disturbing”.
Moko Tepania urged the community to be “extra vigilant”.
“This is just another blow on top of these tragic circumstances for our community.
“We continue to send our aroha to Linda and her grieving whānau.”
Yesterday, police investigating the death of dialysis patient Linda Woods said they believed it started as a “sexually motivated burglary”.
Police were called to a Taraire St property in Kaikohe at 11.41pm on Thursday, after reports of an intruder being located inside the property.
Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston on Sunday told the Herald police couldn’t confirm if the offender pulled out the dialysis tubes, as reported earlier, but there was “a physical struggle.
“The exact mechanism of Linda’s death, that’s a matter that we’re still determining.”
Johnston said police now believe the incident to have started as a sexually motivated burglary.
“This belief is founded on a few key pieces of evidence gathered over the past few days. All occupants of the home are female, and we anticipate the offender has targeted the property for this reason.”
The offender was discovered hiding in one of the occupant’s bedrooms, and during the interview process, the occupants told police of a “pattern of odd occurrences at the property” leading up to the incident.
“This includes clothing being discovered disturbed, and interference with sensor lights and porch light bulbs,” Johnston said.
“An incident was also reported at the property in 2022 which involved someone reaching in through a bedroom window.”
While police did not currently have evidence the incident was connected, it could not be ruled out, he said.
“As you can imagine, the circumstances of this incident have caused significant distress to the family involved, who also are grieving a much-loved family member. We commend them for the bravery they showed during the incident, and for the courage and resilience they have shown ever since while assisting us in our investigation,” Johnston said.
Police support would continue at this “unimaginably difficult time”.
“We know this information is going to cause alarm to the community and we want to reassure you that our primary focus is locating this offender as soon as possible.
“One important task our investigators are now undertaking is to look through reports of any incidents in the area over the past year that might fit the description of the ones outlined above.
“We are asking the community to remain alert, and we are also imploring you to come forward with any information you have. If you have experienced any disturbances at your property that are similar to what has been described and you have not reported these to police, we need you to get in touch. We also believe someone in the community will know the offender.”
Johnston said the offender would have returned to his home late on Thursday night without his jean shorts or size US13 shoes.
“His behaviour may have been noticeably different after this incident. The victims at this property were determined not to let this offender get away and held on to him, attempting to block his exit.”
Police released a photograph from a brief video taken on a cellphone during the incident.
“The video is very short and only captures the offender from behind; however, from the still image, you can get a good impression of the offender’s age, build and the style of his upper clothing.
“If you recognise this man, or if you know someone who matches the description of an older man aged 40-60, with short, grey-speckled, possibly curly hair, Māori or Polynesian and with a solid build, please, we need you to speak with us.”
Johnston told the Herald the footage was “distressing” for the victims to revisit.
“When the offender’s [been] disturbed in the house, the occupants have done their best to try and stop him from leaving, whilst they’re calling police at the same time, they have been on their phones and one of them has managed to press record, but it’s a very brief and shaky cellphone video from behind looking at the offender.”
He said the footage gave a good impression of the person’s likely age and build as well as his clothing. His shorts were ripped off during the struggle with the occupants, Johnston said.
As well as conducting door-to-door inquiries, police would now also be looking at previous incidents at the property to see if they were linked.
“We can’t conclusively link those to our offender on Thursday night, at this stage, but it is a concerning pattern so that leads us to believe we need to do a lot more work investigating those previous incidents and looking for other similar incidents in the neighbourhood.”
He said the occupants of the home did not recognise the man.
Johnston had a message for the offender.
“What our investigation shows is that this man just wanted to leave the property, he may not have intended for anybody to be hurt, regardless of that, someone has been, and someone has passed away, and we need to investigate that and resolve. The best thing they can do is come forward and talk to us.”
The information comes after police released images of some shorts and shoes left behind by the intruder. Johnston said police hoped the images would jog someone’s memory from Thursday night, when Woods died in her home which she shared with four generations of her female whānau.
The offender’s shorts had come off during a struggle with the house occupants as he tried to flee.
A pair of shoes were also found placed on the ground outside the property, Johnston said.
“They are size US13 New Balance Versi Comfort Ride sneakers, colour dark grey and black.”
Police said the intruder was described as a male, Māori or Polynesian, aged somewhere between 40-60 years old, and solidly built.
He was also caught sitting in his tenant's work van and left a note calling him a 'pr**k'.