Fielding murder victim withdrew cash for holiday

Rosemary Blake was drinking with the elderly pair before their murder. Picture / Mark Mitchell

In the week before Feilding pensioners Margaret Waldin and Ted Ferguson were brutally murdered they had started planning a holiday.

Friends say Mr Ferguson withdrew a large sum last week in preparation, although they did not know where the 73-year-old had planned to take his companion.

While police will not say if there is a link between the withdrawal and the killings, they yesterday confirmed that the couple's bank accounts and Eftpos transactions were under scrutiny.

As the investigation enters its fifth day, the last two people to see the pair alive on Friday night have said they feel like suspects.

Rosemary Blake and Kenny Heap spent last Friday night drinking with Mrs Waldin, 76, and Mr Ferguson at Feilding's Manchester Tavern, the last place they were seen alive.

Ms Blake is Mr Ferguson's stepdaughter and Mrs Waldin's niece.

She said Mr Ferguson left the pub before Mrs Waldin, who made the short walk back to his pensioner flat on her own, after refusing their offers to accompany her.

Ms Blake said there was a group of young people hanging around further up the street, so she called out to Mrs Waldin but she walked into the driveway without responding.

Yesterday the pair told the Herald they felt as if they were being treated as suspects after spending Tuesday afternoon with police who scraped their fingernails, took hair samples and made them wrap themselves in white sheets as they were checked for bruising and scratches.

Ms Blake said police asked her about a small scratch on her hand and marks on her arm.

"The scratch, that's from the cat, I told them." She said marks on her arm were liver spots.

Police were back at the Hobson St flat they share at 8.30 yesterday morning asking them more questions Ms Blake said, adding that they had been made to draw maps of the way they walked home and had been interviewed for hours.

"At the moment I do feel like we're being treated as suspects but I know we're not, they're trying to eliminate us two out of it, well I hope."

Ms Blake said detectives seemed certain they were the last to see the elderly pair alive.

At the Kiwi Tavern where the pensioners used to drink, manager Dawn Edwards said Mr Heap and Ms Blake had been there on Tuesday night where Ms Blake had sung Mrs Waldin's favourite song, And I Love You, on the karaoke machine.

Ms Edwards said the pair had been talking about the deaths of their friends.

She said Ms Blake had told her the pair had been stabbed in the back, Mrs Waldin's face badly brutalised.

Police were called to the Bowen St flat early on Sunday morning after neighbours became concerned that they had not seen Mr Ferguson.

Ms Blake had lived with Mr Ferguson until about the middle of last year. She said she had moved out because Mr Ferguson had concerns about losing his pension if she continued living there. Mr Ferguson had been the partner of her mother, Silvia, until she died five years ago.

Inspector Dave White said police had no suspect list and were keeping an open mind.

Police confirmed yesterday that the pensioners had been stabbed and Mr White said any DNA samples would have been taken to eliminate people from the inquiry.

He would not comment on any money Mr Ferguson had drawn out of his account but said police were checking the pair's bank and Eftpos transactions to build a picture of the days before their deaths.