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Home / New Zealand

The Unsolved part four: looking back at New Zealand's cold case killings 2000-2018

Anna Leask
By Anna Leask
Senior Journalist - crime and justice·NZ Herald·
2 Jan, 2019 11:00 PM11 mins to read

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David Rawiri Kuka, killed execution style in a case of mistaken identity related to a previous murder.

David Rawiri Kuka, killed execution style in a case of mistaken identity related to a previous murder.

There are currently 66 unsolved homicides in New Zealand, dating back to 1914.

They are men, women and children - and even siblings and couples murdered together - whose deaths are a mystery.

Over four days we are detailing each murder - who the victim was, what happened and when.

Today the unsolved murders from 2000 until July 2018 have been covered.

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Justice has never been served for them or their families, and while in some cases police are confident that one day they will get a result, others will never be solved.

Police provided the Herald with details of each of the unsolved homicides from 1914.

Since then there have been a number of other murders, with only one unsolved to date.

As we remember those killed, we urge anyone with information on these cases to contact their local police - or offer details anonymously via Crimestoppers - and help them solve the mystery of what happened to the 66.

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Diana Leafa
September 18, 2002
Wanganui

Diana Leafa, 23, was reported missing on September 17 and police and her family said they had serious concerns for her safety.

Twenty two days later, on October 9, her body was found.

Leafa was naked and lying in tussock-covered sand dunes at remote Waiinu Beach settlement, just outside Waitotara township.

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Where her body was found is remote and nearly 40km from where she was last seen alive.

Leafa worked as a prostitute, which upset her deeply religious family.

However, they spoke out after her death in a bid to help police find answers.

Police have previously said that they have not completely ruled out Leafa's death was an accident - but that, as time went on and nobody came forward with information about her final hours, they considered it less likely.

Katrina Ann Jefferies
July 12, 2005
Auckland

The 22-year-old solo mother was last seen about 8pm on July 10, when she left the suburban home she shared with her mother and 20-month old son.

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Katrina Ann Jefferies. Photograph supplied
Katrina Ann Jefferies. Photograph supplied

Her body was found two days later, dumped in Waikowhai Park in Hillsborough.

Police later said her cause of death was "highly unusual" and no weapon was used - but they would not elaborate further.

They said it was a complete mystery what happened to her between when she walked out and when she was found.

Staranise Waru
February 16, 2006
Christchurch

Seven-month-old Staranise Waru died from a severe brain injury consistent with being shaken.

Her parents Nyree Hopa and Robert Waru were considered suspects but neither were charged.

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Staranise Waru was murdered in Christchurch. Photograph supplied
Staranise Waru was murdered in Christchurch. Photograph supplied

Police at the time said their stories about what happened to their baby were riddled with inconsistencies - such as Waru telling police that Staranise had banged her head on a door at a video store while he was with her.

But police said video footage from the video store did not support this, and Waru later changed his version of events to say that Staranise had hit her head on a car door.

At a Coroner's inquest the pair were called to give evidence.

Hopa told the court that she did not know what happened to her daughter.

Under questioning both Hopa and Waru repeatedly answered that they could not recall events around their child's death, or opted not to answer on the basis they could incriminate themselves.

Do Trieu
August 20, 2008
Wellington

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Do Trieu was a Vietnamese refugee and retired taxi driver who went missing in 2008.

He was initially coded as a missing person, but in following a case review in 2013 police upgraded the investigation to homicide.

They believe Trieu was murdered.

Stuff reported that Trieu went on a three-day holiday to Rotorua on August 17 with his wife and two friends.

When they returned to Wellington, Trieu was not with them.

He was reported missing on September 14.

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His wife Nguyen told police - and maintains - that her husband left again on August 21 to go to Auckland.

Police do not believe Trieu left the capital and his daughter believes he was murdered while on the trip.

Damien Loder Allen
September 24, 2009
Auckland

Allen, 33, died of head injuries in the house he lived in with three others in Hillsborough.

The unemployed beneficiary, who was known to be a heavy drinker and illicit drug user, was killed by blunt-force trauma to the head.

Marke Allen (left) with his son Damien Loder Allen. This is the last picture taken of the two together before Damien's death in 2007.
Marke Allen (left) with his son Damien Loder Allen. This is the last picture taken of the two together before Damien's death in 2007.

He was found by police on his bed at 8pm the next day.

Police said there was evidence the house - owned by a notorious drug dealer - was cleaned and Allen's body moved before 111 was called nearly 24 hours after he was believed to have been fatally injured.

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So little was known about Allen's demise that an accurate time of death wasn't recorded until a Coroner's inquest in 2016.

Fewer than 10 people were at the house on the night Allen died and police said at the time there were "obvious gaps in honest information" in what those people were telling police.

Jordan Voudouris
June 17, 2012
Paeroa

Jordan Voudouris was murdered at the back of his pizza shop.

The shot which killed the father and grandfather was fired early on a Monday morning some time between 1.30am and 4.30am.

Voudouris was shot inside a gate fitted to close off the rear of the shop, after two burglaries the previous March.

Jordan Voudouris was murdered at his Paeroa pizza shop. Photograph supplied
Jordan Voudouris was murdered at his Paeroa pizza shop. Photograph supplied

Police said Voudouris did not die where he was shot.

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He staggered out from there, likely seeking help.

He made it 15m to where he was found early the next morning by a neighbouring antique dealer.

Ronald Russell Allison
January 25, 1013
Whatatutu

The 88-year-old father and grandfather was killed in a house fire near Gisborne.

He was a farmer and war veteran.

Soon after the fire police appealed for information about a car they were seeking in relation to the investigation.

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Allison lived alone in the house but police were seeking information about a blue Nissan driven by a middle-aged European woman around the time of the death.

Atreyu Taylor-Matene
July 13, 2013
Kamo

Atreyu Taylor-Matene died in Starship children's hospital after suffering serious head injuries at the Northland home where he lived with his mother and her partner.

He was just 1.

Almost 30 police worked on the initial phase of the investigation, which included a forensic examination of the house where Atreyu was fatally injured.

Frederick Hayward
September 3, 2013
Waikato

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Hayward was last seen leaving his home around 5pm, with the intention of travelling to the family bach in Raglan.

He never arrived.

Frederick Hawyard. Photograph supplied
Frederick Hawyard. Photograph supplied

He was initially coded as a missing person but in 2017 police revealed that new information had come to light and Hayward's disappearance was considered a homicide.

"We now believe something sinister may have happened to Rick," said Detective Sergeant Andrew Saunders.

"It may be the case that Mr Hayward was the victim of a hit and run. We are not suggesting that anyone deliberately knocked him down.

"However, the driver might have panicked and disposed of Mr Hayward's body."

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The investigation team is still seeking help from the public to provide answers for the Hayward family.

Soul Mathew Turany
August 30, 2014
Burnham

Emergency services responded to a report of a baby suffering a head injury and breathing difficulties at a dairy farm near Burnham, 30km south of Christchurch, at 6.45am.

Soul Mathew Turany was flown to Christchurch Hospital by Westpac Rescue Helicopter in a critical condition.

He was taken off life support just after 3am the following day.

Soul Turany Matthew's death is unsolved. His father Corey Neligan wants answers. Photograph supplied
Soul Turany Matthew's death is unsolved. His father Corey Neligan wants answers. Photograph supplied

In October the same year police confirmed Soul's death was being treated as a homicide.

They refused to comment further.

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Soul's father Corey Neligan told the Herald he was struggling to come to terms with the death of his baby.

"Everyone wants answers ... and I don't even have any myself," he said.

Brett Fraser
October 21, 2014
Auckland

Fraser was killed at the warehouse property he shared with his flatmate in Westech Place, Glen Eden.

Police believe the incident was motivated by a cannabis robbery.

Mr Fraser's flatmate was running a cannabis growing operation at the warehouse and had recently harvested his plants.

Brett Fraser was murdered in West Auckland.
Brett Fraser was murdered in West Auckland.

The flatmate said on the night Fraser died he was assaulted by a man wearing a balaclava and holding a sharp object.

He was then ordered upstairs to show the offender where his cannabis was located.

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He handed over the cannabis, but when he came back downstairs he found Fraser wounded on the floor.

Fraser died at the scene, and had suffered a blunt-force injury to the top half of his body.

Investigators have spoken at length with more than 50 people, including associates of Fraser's and possible witnesses, but to date, no information has been found that would lead to the identification of the offender.

Alestra Kepa-Hati
September 25, 2016
Kaikohe

Alestra, 4, was in the care of Child Youth and Family in Northland when she died.

She reportedly suffered a minor seizure, fell and hit her head.

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Alestra Kepa-Hati. Photograph/Facebook
Alestra Kepa-Hati. Photograph/Facebook

When her caregiver went to check on her after she went to bed she was limp.

She was rushed to Starship but her injuries were not survivable.

Police are still investigating the death.

Victim name redacted by police
July 13, 2016

Lois Tolley
December 9, 2017
Wellington

It has been just over a year since the 30-year-old was murdered in her Upper Hutt home.

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Four people violently smashed their way into the 30-year-old's home.

Sitting alone in her lounge, Tolley desperately tried to escape. But she had no chance of defending herself against her attackers.

Lois Tolley of Lower Hutt. Photograph supplied
Lois Tolley of Lower Hutt. Photograph supplied

During her bid to get away, she was stabbed and shot at point-blank and left dead on the floor.

Police this month revealed new evidence which may lead them to Tolley's executioners.

They believe that the four people who barged into Tolley's home were attempting to carry out some form of "taxing" or debt collection, or that they were looking for drugs and/or cash for their own use.

Roma Midwood
May 1, 2017
Tirau

Midwood, more commonly known as Roma Joseph, died in a deliberately lit house fire. She was home alone when somebody set fire to the home between 3am and 3.30am.

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Roma Joseph. Photograph supplied
Roma Joseph. Photograph supplied

Neighbours said they saw two people outside the house just before the fire broke out.

One drove off in a silver vehicle and another who took off on foot.

About a minute later the house was on fire. Joseph was found dead inside.

Later, police revealed the 58-year-old grandmother was seriously assaulted before the fire.

They released CCTV footage of a person walking on the main street in Tirau who they wanted to speak to in connection with the death.

Rory William O'Neill
November 4, 2017
Auckland

O'Neill, 34, was shot dead at a Blockhouse Bay home in the early hours of the morning.

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He was a Killer Beez gang member who was released from prison just two months before his death, following a four-year sentence for injuring, intentional damage, possessing a firearm and unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle.

Police initially said they weren't looking for anyone else in relation to the shooting, which they described as "unexplained" but later confirmed a homicide investigation was underway.

They said O'Neill was "known to police".

David Rawiri Kuka
February 11, 2018
Tauranga

Kuka, a father-of-four and committed Christian, was shot dead at the Gate Pa property where he lived.

Police have described the death of the 52-year-old as cowardly, premeditated and a case of mistaken identity.

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One line of inquiry being followed by the homicide inquiry team is whether Kuka was mistaken for someone else in connection to a fatal shooting at the same Wilrose Place address in January.

Wayne Terrence Noda
June 30, 2018
Huntly

Noda, 48, was found dead in his living room - he had been violently attacked.

Police say gangs are to blame for the death of Noda and two other men in a three-week period.

Robert Nelson
July 8, 2018
Hamilton

Nelson, 23, was fatally shot as he was lying in bed and died protecting his partner in the gunfire.

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Robert Nelson, 23, with his partner Kahlee. He was killed in a shooting in Hamilton. Photograph supplied
Robert Nelson, 23, with his partner Kahlee. He was killed in a shooting in Hamilton. Photograph supplied

His 20-year-old partner Kahlee and a 17-year-old man, believed to be a family friend, were also seriously injured.

His sister Erin said they believed the attack was random or a case of mistaken identity by a gang. She stressed her brother was an "innocent person caught in the crossfire".

"Somebody arrived to the house and attacked about four people inside. There was another person holed up inside who wasn't injured," she said.

Her brother had died "covering his girlfriend" from the bullets, Erin said.

The investigation into Nelson's death is ongoing.

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