As stated by Detective Inspector David De Lange:
Police have now launched a homicide investigation following the discovery of a woman’s body in a burnt-out vehicle at the River Road Recreational Reserve in Havelock North.
Post-mortem results have led to this decision and Police are determined to establish what has happened to this victim and hold the person or persons responsible for her death to account.
We still have not identified the woman found in the vehicle, but we are following lines of enquiry in relation to this.
Formal identification procedures remain ongoing and are taking longer than usual due to the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Police have established that the burnt-out vehicle was a mid-90s dark grey Toyota Corona and we believe it was taken to River Road between 10pm Friday (2 September 2022) and 7am Saturday (3 September 2022).
We are now appealing to anyone who may gone down to the River Road car park between those times who saw the vehicle or any people in the area.
We are also appealing to anyone who may have picked up anyone walking in the River Road or the Te Mata Road area during those times.
We want to assure our community that we are following strong lines of enquiry in relation to this woman’s death and acknowledge that this has been a concerning time for the community.
This weekend we will have our mobile police bus at the River Road Recreational Reserve to speak with anyone who may have been in the area last weekend and have information they think may be relevant to Police.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police on 105 quoting file number 220905/1265.
Information can be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
