Family fume at suspect's silence

Brian Culpan's body was found in his daughter's garden in St Heliers. Photo / Greg Bowker

The last person to see an elderly man alive refused to tell the police what happened and walked free from court with permanent name suppression.

The lack of a statement meant detectives did not have enough evidence to push ahead with the assault charge laid against him after Brian Lindsay Culpan was found dead in the garden of his daughter's home in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers.

His family now hope the coroner, who has the power to subpoena witnesses at an inquest, will determine the unexplained circumstances leading up to the 72-year-old's death.

"Our father was a successful businessman with a passion for yachting and tennis. He was an elderly man who was not violent," said a family spokesman.

"We know he died from a broken neck mysteriously during a dispute. However, we do not know the facts around how this occurred.

"Obviously our family would like closure. We want answers as to exactly what happened to our father. We are putting our faith in the legal system and sincerely hope the police and the coroner can uncover the truth."

Mr Culpan died from a broken neck last July following a heated argument with a man at the St Heliers property.

The man declined to give a statement to police, on advice from his lawyer, and was charged with assault a few days later.

But detectives were forced to withdraw the charge in November because of a lack of evidence and the 51-year-old was granted permanent name suppression in the Auckland District Court.

He pleaded guilty to two drink-driving charges, breach of bail and refusing to give a blood specimen arising from a separate arrest.

Only three people were at the Maskell St address on the afternoon that Mr Culpan died. He was visiting his daughter Natalie Culpan, the founder of the successful Visage modelling agency, and let himself in with his own key.

She was on the second floor of the home when Mr Culpan confronted the other man, who was known to him, downstairs around 2.30pm, when the pair started arguing.

The row shifted to the patio at the front door of the house and was overheard by neighbours. Mr Culpan was found in the garden and autopsy results showed he died from a broken neck. The other man refused to give a formal statement to detectives investigating the death, on the advice of his lawyer Barry Hart, and he was charged with assaulting Mr Culpan.

But without any witnesses or corroborating evidence, the police were forced to withdraw the charge.

Detective Sergeant Geoff Ringer confirmed to the Weekend Herald that the police file, including autopsy results, 111 call transcripts and witness statements, had been referred to the coroner.

A coroner's inquest is an inquisitorial process to discover what happened rather than to hold a trial to apportion blame.

The recommendations made by the coroner, if any, may draw public attention to the circumstances surrounding the death that may prevent any future death in similar circumstances.

Under the Coroners Act, a coroner has the power to subpoena witnesses to appear at an inquest. However, witnesses can still refuse to give evidence if they believe their statements would be incriminating.

The Government considered removing the right to silence in certain criminal cases but the proposal was removed when the Search and Surveillance Bill passed into law.

Sequence of events

2011

July 21: Brian Lindsay Culpan, 72, died from a broken neck.

July 22: A 51-year-old man appeared in Auckland District Court charged with assault.

November 13: Assault charged dropped and man given permanent name suppression.

2012

May: Police refer file to coroner