Arrest little relief for victim's widow

Jack Nicholas

Relatives of slain Hawkes Bay farmer Jack Nicholas say the arrest of a man in connection with his 2004 murder is little comfort.

"Until things are proven, it's only just another step," his widow, Agnes Nicholas, told the Herald last night.

Mrs Nicholas said she did not know the arrested man, who is to appear in Napier District Court again today, and she did not want to.

"In my mind and in my heart I'm still thinking of Jack, so there's no room to think about this other person. He's a non-entity."

Mr Nicholas, 71, was shot dead in the driveway of their property in Puketitiri, west of Napier, in August 2004.

His killer is yet to be found, but police yesterday arrested a 49-year-old Haumoana construction labourer in connection with the case.

The man, who has name suppression, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice after he allegedly asked another person to lie to police after the murder. He is due to apply for bail this morning after he was remanded in custody during an appearance yesterday afternoon.

Police would not say whether further charges were likely, but called the arrest "a significant step forward" in the homicide investigation.

It came after a specialist police search team found two firearm cartridges in a house in Haumoana, south of Napier, last week.

Two other properties in the beachside community were searched yesterday morning and the 49-year-old was arrested.

Napier police were also speaking to four other people, but said it was too early to say if further arrests were likely.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Gregory said detectives were pleased with the man's arrest but stopped short of calling it a breakthrough.

"It's a significant step forward. We're mindful that there's a whole lot more work to be done."

He said the cartridges would be sent for forensic testing but it could be several weeks before results were known.

Like Mr Nicholas' widow, his sister, Eileen Whittle, felt little relief at the arrest.

"Until someone is really charged with it, I'm not going to get excited about it," the 75-year-old said.

She said the time since her brother's death had been hard on the family and they wanted closure.

For her part, Mrs Nicholas said she tried not to think about who had killed her husband, but the mystery still plagued her.

"He does go through my mind occasionally because I wonder how the hell he could do this to Jack," she said.

She did not attend the arrested man's court appearance yesterday, and did not intend to go today.

"We have a farm to run here."