Titoki St residents are in mourning after a loved neighbour and friend died in hospital yesterday of injuries received when she was assaulted early on Sunday.
Heather Simons, 44, was rushed to the intensive care unit at Wellington Hospital with serious head injuries after the attack in Titoki St in Wanganui's
Castlecliff area.
Despite undergoing neurological surgery, she was taken off life support late on Monday and died early yesterday.
Flowers were yesterday placed on her Titoki St letterbox as neighbours came to terms with the events of the past few days.
The neighbour who had put them there told the Chronicle she had done so as a mark of respect to Ms Simons, and to let others in the street know what had happened.
"She was a lovely lady . she did a lot of volunteer work," the neighbour, who did not want to be named, said.
A 43-year-old woman has been charged with common assault and a 22-year-old man with being an accessory after the fact to common assault.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann, said a homicide inquiry had been launched and more serious charges would follow.
Police working on the investigation, dubbed Operation Titoki, have spent the past few days talking to neighbours and completing a forensic search of the premises.
They are also completing a post-mortem examination of Ms Simons' body in Wellington.
Ms Simons' neighbour said there was a community feeling on the street, and no one could believe what had happened. "We've all got a sense of shock, like `did this really happen right on my road?' "
A woman is due to appear in the Wanganui District Court today on an assault charge, while a man charged with being an accessory is scheduled to appear on March 3, but this is likely to be brought forward if his charges are upgraded, police said.
The incident is the latest homicide to rock the Castlecliff-Gonville area.
In September last year, father-of-one Paul Kumeroa was fatally bashed as he walked home from work along Cross St.
And, in May 2006, two-year-old Jhia Te Tua was shot dead during a botched gang drive-by shooting in nearby Puriri St.
PICTURED: Flowers placed outside Heather Simons' house yesterday after she succumbed to her injuries following an alleged assault on Sunday morning.
