Grieving mother of murdered guard visits scene

Karamjit Kaur, whose son Charanpreet Singh Dhaliwal, was killed on his first shift as a security guard in West Auckland on November 18, 2011, visits the site for the first time. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The grieving mother of a security guard killed on his first shift has visited the spot where his body was found.

Charanpreet Dhaliwal, 22, was found slumped over a concrete block at a Fulton Hogan construction site on Selwood Rd in Henderson, west Auckland, just after 3am on November 18.

An autopsy showed he died from a blow to the head.

His mother Karamjit Kaur, flanked by leaders of Auckland's Sikh community, broke into tears as she stood for the first time today in front of the spot where her youngest son had died.

Weeping as she spoke through an interpreter, Ms Kaur said her son's deaths still haunts her when she closes her eyes.

The concrete slab where his body was found has since been removed.

"This is the sad place where I'm standing right now.

"This place has reminded me about my son and I have nothing, no other memories," she said.

The 48-year-old widow had been prevented from travelling to New Zealand from India sooner because she has been caring for her elder son, who was injured in a motorcycle accident.

She planned to spend five weeks in the country, a place her son had thought was peaceful.

His death had a big impact on the entire family, she said.

Mr Dhaliwal was born in India and had a diploma in IT and came to New Zealand. He came to New Zealand before his death hoping to find a job in the industry and settle here.

He took on the security job to pay his bills while looking for other work. she said.

Her son was a kind person who never hurt anybody and was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Initially police did not believe Mr Dhaliwal had been murdered but did not rule out foul play. A week later, they upgraded the investigation to a homicide.

A man, 27, was charged with his murder following a six-month inquiry and appeared in court earlier this month.

He will be back in court later this month for a plea-inquiry hearing.

Ms Kaur earlier questioned why her son had been out patrolling alone on his first night and without a walkie-talkie to contact a support person.