Police found the Toyota Yaris they were searching for in relation to the homicide. Photo / NZ Police
Police found the Toyota Yaris they were searching for in relation to the homicide. Photo / NZ Police
Police have recovered a vehicle wanted in relation to a homicide investigation in Epsom, where a man was found dead outside a brothel earlier this week.
A member of the public spotted the car - a blue Toyota Yaris - in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill.
The car has since been seized and is now the subject of a forensic examination due to be carried out today.
Acting Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said: "We appreciate the public's information and support so far, but the investigation team is still looking for sightings of [the car] on Monday night and Tuesday morning."
Police have again appealed for anyone who worked or visited the property - Club 574 - on Manukau Rd on Monday night to contact them immediately.
Baldwin said authorities were still working to formally identify the dead man and to notify his next of kin.
Police have cordoned off the entrance to the brothel at 574 Manukau Rd in Epsom.
Baldwin noted speculation as to the victim's identity but said it was too early to publicly confirm this.
"This is an important process that must be carried out thoroughly and we are unable to comment further on the identification of the deceased at this juncture."
The investigation is now officially called Operation Anniston.
The man found dead at the Auckland brothel was said to have had several "feuds" with other staff and parlour clients.
A sex worker, who asked not to be named, told the Herald that staff management had confirmed the dead man was a manager at the business.
The manager had worked at the brothel for more than a decade and lived in a shed just to the side of the main house.
She said he had been involved in a number of "feuds" with various people - including clients and the other managers, including one who was meant to be working on Monday night but had not turned up for his shift.
"Every manager had found him annoying or had an argument at one point," she said of the dead man.
"Maybe over girls, someone's not doing something right or someone's slacking off."
The murder victim - whose role as a manager included looking after women working on any given day or night - had also reportedly made clients angry in the past.
"Usually the client was in the wrong. Let's just say disrespects a girl or stays too long - [He's] like: 'F*** off'. The client would get angry," she said.
