Drug scene clue in hunt for ex-fireman's killer

Anthony Stanlake, whose mutilated body was found on a Wellington beach.

The drug scene has become an important part of the police hunt for the killer of former firefighter Anthony Stanlake, whose handless body was found on a Wellington beach.

Mr Stanlake had two cannabis-related convictions in 2001. Police say they will be considering drugs as a motive for his slaying.

Police this morning said they had received some calls after Mr Stanlake's name was announced yesterday, but they still did not know when or where he died.

Detective Inspector Mike Arnerich, head of the Operation Red Rocks investigation, said: "We need a lot more calls to pin down sightings of when Tony was last seen alive, his movements, and details such as visitors, including vehicles, to his Lancaster Street house."

He added: "It's a big task trying to find people so we really encourage those with information to contact us."

Yesterday Mr Arnerich said: "Drugs is obviously something we will consider as a motive for this investigation, but there are a large number of other issues we will also be looking at.

"At this stage we have a totally open mind as to why Tony was killed and who was responsible."

Mr Stanlake's half-naked body was found in shallow water at Owhiro Bay, early on Sunday. His hands had been severed and his head badly battered and almost decapitated.

Later that night his partner, concerned that she had not heard from Mr Stanlake for several days, contacted police.

On Monday, a forensic team was able to match details from a flap of palm-skin left attached to one of his arms to records on the police fingerprint register.

The violent death of the 62-year-old man has shocked those who knew him.

He was with the Wellington District Fire Service for 28 years from 1972, although he had not been on active duty since the late 1990s, when he worked for Victim Support.

In 2000, his son, one of three children, died.

On a trip to Amsterdam that year, he turned to cannabis to relieve depression caused by the loss of his son and the pain of a back injury incurred on the job five years earlier.

Without telling his wife, he rented a garage the size of a tennis court in Porirua, installed rooms with ventilation and hydroponic equipment, and set up a separate bank account to pay the bills.

But his landlord became suspicious, cannabis plants were discovered, and he was convicted in 2001.

The judge accepted Mr Stanlake's claim that the drugs were for medicinal purposes. He was fined $10,000 after the judge took into account his $1.3 million in assets.

He and his wife divorced after the conviction, and he moved to a property in a quiet street in affluent Karori.

He was in contact with his female partner every day, but did not live with her.

Police issued a photo of Mr Stanlake taken while he was on holiday with his partner in China in May.

Acting Wellington District deputy chief fire officer Boyd Atkinson described Mr Stanlake as a good firefighter.

"He was always part of the team and always performed well. He was an ordinary everyday guy, a typical firefighter. He had a good sense of humour and a good crew. He was respected."

The back injury forced Mr Stanlake out of firefighting, and he began volunteering for Victim Support in February 1997. In 1999, he left to start his own business.

"He seemed a person who had a genuine interest in people and life," Victim Support operations manager Bronwyn Williams told Radio New Zealand.

Residents on Lancaster St, where Mr Stanlake lived, said he was not well-known in the street, and kept mostly to himself.

"We never really saw him," said a woman who lived across the road. "He minded his own business."

Police sealed off the property yesterday and on Monday while forensic experts inspected his home, the ground floor of a two-storey house.

Police believe Mr Stanlake was killed somewhere other than where his body was dumped.

Mr Arnerich yesterday refused to be drawn on whether Mr Stanlake was killed at his home.

He would only say police would be spending several days at the house, "doing it very thoroughly and meticulously".

Mr Stanlake had two daughters and Mr Arnerich said they were "traumatised".

Interviews with the family lasted until the early hours of yesterday.

Police would now try to establish where Mr Stanlake had been and who he had talked to during his last days.

They wanted to talk to the driver of a Subaru Legacy which Owhiro Bay residents helped rescue on Saturday night after it got bogged on the shoreline.

"Even if that person is not responsible they may have seen something that could help us identify the person who was," said Mr Arnerich.

Mr Stanlake's hands, the murder weapons and his clothing have not been found.

- Additional reporting Elizabeth Binning and NZHERALD STAFF

* Police hotline 0508 Red Rocks - 0508-733-762