Detective driven by fairness dies at 70

Bryan Rowe. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Former top Auckland police detective turned private investigator Bryan Rowe has died, aged 70.

Mr Rowe, who investigated more than 50 homicides during a 33-year career with the police, died suddenly at the weekend.

One of his more notable investigations was that of the murder of Margaret Bell, an innocent young woman killed in a drive-by shooting outside a nightclub in Queen St, Auckland, in 1979 in a suspected case of mistaken identity.

He became head of the Auckland CIB in 1988 and retired as a police superintendent in 1996, soon after leading security operations for two international events in the city - the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and an Asian Development Bank conference.

Soon after his retirement, Mr Rowe was in his new role as a private investigator, re-opening police files and picking holes in evidence against a Christchurch strip club owner accused of manslaughter, causing charges to be withdrawn.

He also helped to prove the innocence of David Dougherty, wrongfully imprisoned for rape, and re-investigated the case of three teenage Auckland girls who spent seven months in jail for an assault they did not commit.

In 2005, Mr Rowe ruffled feathers for testifying at a coronial inquiry against a police officer who shot dead Taranaki youth Steven Wallace.

He said there was no excuse for police not being able to control Mr Wallace with batons and pepper spray and that it was clear Senior Constable Keith Abbott, earlier acquitted of murder, made no attempt to help the young man after he was shot.

Although he acknowledged soon after becoming a private investigator that some in the police viewed him as "a turncoat - working to prove the guilty innocent", he said his main objective was in upholding "what I believe in - fairness".

Mr Rowe's wife Judy said last night that their three children and eight grandchildren had a lot to be proud of about him.

Prominent Auckland barrister Gary Gotlieb paid tribute to Mr Rowe as a tireless investigator.

Mr Rowe's funeral is on Thursday at the North Harbour Chapel, Schnapper Rock Rd, Albany. A private cremation will follow the service.