Jo Sione-Lauaki and her husband Jared Sione-Lauaki, who is grieving the loss of his wife after she was found dead on remote Northland coastline last Friday.
Jo Sione-Lauaki and her husband Jared Sione-Lauaki, who is grieving the loss of his wife after she was found dead on remote Northland coastline last Friday.
Joanna Mai Sione-Lauaki’s body was found on August 2 between Omamari and Aranga Beaches.
Police are officially treating her death as unexplained, but her family say officers suspect foul play is involved.
The family is preparing for a tangihanga tomorrow in Auckland, with 600 mourners expected.
And as the family prepare for her tangi tomorrow, it’s understood police are looking for a man seen with Sione-Lauaki in the lead-up to her death.
Sione-Lauaki’s family say police have told them they believe she is the victim of foul play.
Her family told 1News Sione-Lauaki was an uplifting person with a big heart for people and was courageous in her effort to support women through an empowerment programme for which she worked.
They are desperate for information about how she died and are demanding answers.
Police are also understood to be looking for a man who was seen with Sione-Lauaki before she died, 1News reported. He is understood to be known to police.
A police spokeswoman told the Herald they could not comment on whether they were searching for a man seen with Sione-Lauaki.
Sione-Lauaki’s body was found between Omamari and Aranga beaches – on a remote coastline northwest of Dargaville – about 2pm on Friday, August 2.
Police are officially treating the death as unexplained. They are appealing for sightings of Sione-Lauaki, her car or anyone on Omamari Beach on Thursday or Friday
Her grieving husband Jared Sione-Lauaki previously said he feared someone was involved with her death, after she sent him a text saying “help” sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning.
Today, Jared Sione-Lauaki told 1News, “I want answers”.
Jo Sione-Lauaki and Jared Sione-Lauaki.
He said his wife “touched hundreds and hundreds of hearts” and would continue to affect people after her death.
“There’s no word ... that we can put out there to explain what we’re going through at the moment,” he said.
Fourteen-year-old Harmoney Sione-Lauaki told 1News through tears her mother “always had a smile on her face even if she was having a bad day [and] she always had food on the table and made sure we were okay”.
Jared Sione-Lauaki, a dairy farm worker, didn’t receive the text from his wife until he woke at 5.15am on Friday and said couldn’t tell when it had been sent because his phone had been set to flight mode.
Jo Sione-Lauaki's daughter Harmoney Sione Lauaki, 14, appearing on 1News at 6pm, is brought to tears talking about her mum outside the family home in Dargavile. Photo / 1News
He tried to call his wife back but got no response. He later searched for her and reported her missing to police.
The whole family is still in shock and trying to work out what happened, said Jo’s sister-in-law Matilda Kahotea.
But Jared Sione-Lauaki has been reassured police are taking the incident seriously, after police told him they believed it was foul play, Kahotea said.
“He was overwhelmed and taken aback, but it was something that he was glad to have got more answers [about from police],” Kahotea said after talking with her brother-in-law on Monday.
The family are meanwhile distracted by organising the tangihanga, at which around 600 people are expected.
She will be lying at her whānau home in Pouto Rd, Dargaville, until Wednesday when there will be an early morning convoy to Schnapper Rock Crematorium in Albany, where a service will be held, Kahotea said.
Jo Sione-Lauaki was also involved in Destiny Church and was a facilitator of its empowerment programme Legacy Sisterhood, Kahotea said.
“She was a great advocate for other women, any woman that needed help. She would help women through recovery and lots going through domestic violence. She was always there, people could ring her.”
Jared Sione-Lauaki with his wife, Jo Sione-Lauaki, whose body was found on Omamari Beach in Northland last Friday in circumstances police have described as 'unexplained'.
Sione-Lauaki was also involved with the whānau of Black Power, she said.
Kahotea reiterated police’s appeal for anyone who saw Jo, her black Mitsubishi Outlander or anyone on Omamari Beach.
Detective Senior Sergeant John Clayton said on Tuesday the investigation into Jo’s death is continuing and police are still waiting for the findings of a post-mortem.
“Police are in the process of collecting evidence, and a scene examination has been completed ... Further information will be provided when we are in a position to do so.”
Clayton encouraged people to contact police if they have any information which might be relevant to the investigation. Anyone with information should contact police via 105 and quote file number 240803/9062.
Kahotea said it would be great if anyone with information could come forward.
“From the time she left home until this happened, no one has seen her – it’s like she just disappeared. If anyone did see her, we would love them to come forward.”
