Dead woman found propped upright in car seat

A homicide investigation has been launched after a woman was found dead in a car in Waipukurau.

Detective Senior Sergeant Dave De Lange, of Hastings CIB, said a 73-year-old man went to an off-duty police officer's house about 6.30pm yesterday and told him he had a dead woman in his car.

The officer went with him back to his car, which was parked in St Joseph's Street and a dead woman was propped upright in the front passenger seat of a grey-coloured Nissan Primera.

He said the dead woman was a 56-year-old local woman. Her name would not be released until next of kin had been notified.

Police said the man and the dead woman were known to each other but not related.

The car has been secured while police continued their investigation into the death.

Mr De Lange said the 73-year-old man had been charged with assault and was due to appear in Hastings District Court this morning.

A decision on whether further charges would be laid would be made after the post mortem.

Police did not know yet how the woman had died, and whether they were looking for a weapon but would know more after the post-mortem tomorrow.

"At this stage we are keeping an open mind and working from what we've got," he said.

- NZPA