A Rotorua family who saw a group of teenagers "bullying" an older man in Kuirau Park on Monday night have been spoken to by police after the discovery of a man's body in the park.
A team of about 38 police staff is working on a homicide investigation after the body was found by a member of the public about 1.30am yesterday.
The Bay of Plenty Police district field crime manager, Detective Inspector Mark Loper, said
said the man's body had suffered "some serious injuries" to the head and body.
"Police have some strong leads in relation to the man's identity. However, it may be that it is not possible to formally confirm this until the post-mortem is undertaken."
Mr Loper said the victim was Caucasian, aged in his 60s, had temporarily moved to Rotorua and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
Mr Loper said it was too early in the investigation to be able to provide further details about the injuries or the potential cause of death. He said he couldn't comment on whether police were looking for a weapon. A post-mortem examination was to be undertaken in Auckland.
A Rotorua family went to the police station about 11am yesterday after learning about what had happened.
The family, who didn't want to be identified, came across a group of young men who were "bullying" an older man near the foot spa in Kuirau Park while they were walking through the park about 8pm on Monday. A woman who was part of the family told The Daily Post one of them went to the foot spa to scare the young men off before continuing their walk.
"We just saw a bunch of teenagers bullying an older guy."
The woman was unsure whether it had anything to do with the homicide but said they made a statement to police yesterday.
Mr Loper said police were confident the death was not gang-related but they were exploring all possibilities, including whether the incident was related to family violence, robbery or drugs.
He said they would be checking central city CCTV footage for possible leads.
A large cordon was in place around almost the entire Kuirau Park area yesterday.
A 1999 green Rover 216 SLI hatchback was also cordoned off on the playground side of the park, near the toilets. The car had a smashed rear window, which had been covered by a plastic sheet and had dents in the rear. Mr Loper would not comment on whether the car was related to the death.
Inside the main cordon was a separate cordon leading towards a blue tent and shelter, which had been set up on the Ranolf St side of the park. The shelter was covering the body, Mr Loper said.
Members of the public were being urged to avoid the park.
"Due to the need to preserve and recover any items that may be linked to this incident, we have an extensive cordon in place around the area."
Mr Loper said police wanted to hear from anyone who was in the Kuirau Park area on Monday night or yesterday morning or from anyone who might have noticed something suspicious around the area or among their friends, family or acquaintances. Police had already spoken to about six members of the public who came forward yesterday, Mr Loper said.
Rotorua District Council parks and recreation manager Garry Page said a council staff member was helping police around hot pool safety in the park. He said the council would be in charge of the park again once it was no longer a crime scene.
Anyone with information should call Rotorua police on (07) 348 0099. People can also provide information anonymously, via the independent Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.