By Jason Collie
Nineteen-year-old Rina-Lee Vaha'akolo loved the good times - but her final weekend of partying led to her death on Mangere Mountain.
The Otara teenager collapsed and died at a youngsters' hang-out in Mangere Bridge Domain after several hours' drinking with others on Sunday night.
Police have ruled out foul play,
but her grieving parents, Peter and Rina, believe there is more to her death than a teenager dying of alcoholic poisoning.
Rina-Lee, who was to have celebrated her 20th birthday in a fortnight, left home to go to a 21st party on Saturday.
Her parents thought she was with family friends until they were told of the tragedy yesterday morning.
They say that when they saw their daughter's body, she had bruises on her face, and they question how well she knew the people she was with on the mountain all Sunday night.
"My girl was one who mixed with a lot," Mr Vaha'akolo said.
"She was happy-go-lucky, and she liked to live each day as it came.
"But it does not look right. She looked like she had been in a fight, and there may be a bit more than [the police] are telling us.
"I really want to talk to the people she was with."
Rina-Lee collapsed on one of the soccer fields halfway up Mangere Mountain shortly before midnight.
One of the people with her ran to a neighbouring house, asking the owners to ring an ambulance because Rina-Lee was having trouble breathing. She was dead when paramedics arrived.
Detective Sergeant Neil Hallett said the cause of Rina-Lee's death would not be known for a few days, but suspicious circumstances had been ruled out after an autopsy and interviews with the people who were with her.
She had no injuries to her body substantial enough to kill her.
Rina-Lee had no known medical condition and there was nothing to suggest drug use, although she had drunk a lot of alcohol, he said.
The family who rang the ambulance said the domain attracted youths and trouble every weekend.
"They should close it at weekends," one family member said.
Ray Cavanagh, custodian of the neighbouring Mangere Memorial Hall, added: "We get a lot of hooligans up here. It's just a natural spot because it's quite out of the way."
