Woman was alive when set alight

The scene of the crime. Photo / Jason Dorday

A woman whose body was found burning beside a remote Waikato road was alive when she was set on fire.

Police launched a homicide investigation yesterday after confirming her identity and the cause of death.

They had not released her name, age or ethnicity last night because they had to inform the family. The cause of death was confirmed after a post-mortem examination yesterday.

Police said an accelerant was used and forensic tests should help identify it. They are not looking for a weapon.

Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall wouldn't discuss how the woman was identified but said it was not as a result of the post-mortem.

He said police were particularly interested in clothing or other items discarded near the scene.

Asked whether the dead woman was naked, he said: "I can't confirm that at this stage."

Keall said the death was "unique and quite bizarre".

"It appears this woman has been set alight beside a public road," he said.

About 30 officers are working on the case and staff have been provided with support to cope with its gruesome nature.

The woman's body was found burning on Hangapipi Rd, 10km west of Huntly, on Thursday night. The rural road winds through a quiet valley where gorse, scrub and pine trees cover the hills. The site is within earshot of the busy Rotowaro opencast coal mine, but few houses are in the area.

Keall said earlier reports of a scrub fire were incorrect.

"The fire was confined solely to the body."

Local residents had been helpful and he appealed for sightings of vehicles, people or anything "untoward" in the area from 9pm to 10.30pm on Thursday.

Singer/songwriter Paul Gough, who lives in a house bus near the scene, said it was scary to know about the death, especially when details were so sketchy.

"All I heard is that somebody got burned. I thought it must have been a car. It was quite horrific."

The grandfather was saddened by earlier reports that the woman was thought to be aged about 20.

Gough said police cars had been going back and forth to the site since her body was found.

"We don't want this to become like South Auckland. They can have that sort of stuff up there, not down here in the country," he said.

Another resident, Trevor Walker, works at the mine. He said not much happened in the community without the locals knowing, but in this case he only found out about the incident when he went to work and saw the police in the area.

Walker's wife, Maxine, said the death was "very tragic. We are all feeling for the family."

Anyone with information should contact Huntly Police on (07) 828 7560, or phone CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.