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”I grieve with the whānau for the loss of life, irrespective of the circumstances surrounding the loss of life it is a whānau tragedy.”
Jones said the death of the woman - who NZME understands is Kaikohe’s Linda Woods - would come as a loud reminder to stamp out such crimes.
A week ago, he hosted a public meeting in Kaikohe where the subject was “law and order” and “personal safety”.
”It is deeply disturbing that this savage event has taken place. It casts a dark, sad cloud over all of Northland but I feel extremely angry and feel the pain personally.”
Jones said in the meeting people shared extreme cases of fear and alarm, a loss of confidence in the robustness of police. There was an acknowledgement that “simple standards of community morals had been smashed”. For example, the gym for recovering addicts which was burnt down 10 days ago in Kaikohe by an intoxicated person.
Jones said yesterday’s incident was not the only “ugly event” affecting the region. ”We are not just talking about this specific ugly event we are talking about cancer of social decay. The second thing is the lawlessness and inability of the police to intervene and loss of deterrence.”
Jones said he personally knew the whānau and community who live at Taraire St. He said they were blighted by this “feral cockroach behaviour”. ”It seems to be a tide of excuses continually served as to why this is happening. It is happening because our system has allowed social decay cancer to progress. In my opinion, these incidents are related to whānau who have gang relations.”
I feel extremely angry and feel the pain personally', says Shane Jones. Photo / Doug Sherring
”We need to reset our thinking of gang members. There are more gang members than police officers. They will continue to proliferate until work is done so the next generation can be deterred away from joining them.”
Kaikohe Business Association vice chair Linda Bracken said the woman’s death at a property on Taraire St has shocked the whole community and unless more details were provided, it was hard to pinpoint what led to her death.
Emergency services responded to reports of an intruder at a Taraire St property where a struggle between the occupants and the intruder resulted in one of the occupants being seriously injured.
Despite efforts from emergency services, the victim died at the scene. Police are currently speaking to a number of witnesses as part of a homicide investigation.
The house is down a shared right-of-way off Taraire St. The property has been cordoned off with police tape. Two officers are standing guard outside the house and one more is on guard in a paddock at the rear of the property. A police forensics trailer is parked on the property.
A police officer stands guard at the Taraire St home where a homicide investigation is underway. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Another six officers, including non-uniformed CIB and a scene of crime officer, have begun a scene examination.
It’s a tidy house on the edge of town in an area which has its share of dilapidated houses.
There’s a steady stream of locals driving past to check the victim isn’t someone they know.
Community leader Jay Hepi lives just up the road and knows the family involved.
He says it’s time for the community, iwi and hapu to step up. Police are understaffed in the town and can’t do it on their own.
Kaikohe community leader Jay Hepi says it's time for the community, hapu and iwi to step up. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Speaking broadly about the social issues plaguing Kaikohe, especially in town, Bracken said there has been an increase in the number of people on the streets at night who were either able to get either drugs or alcohol.
“The mental health of people could be better in this area. The association is looking at a Safer Kaikohe Together project in a bid to push people off the streets,” she said.
Bringing more Māori wardens was one way of keeping streets safer, she said.
Far North mayor Moko Tepania said the community was reeling after the “terrible” and “scary” news of a woman’s death overnight.
Tepania told the Herald it was terrible news to wake up to.
“It is a little bit scary, to be honest. I live in Kaikohe myself, it is my home. We have a very close-knit community, obviously, residents will be reeling as I am from this incident.
“I want to share my condolences to the whānau and I want to send my aroha to everyone.”
People in Kaikohe did not usually lock their doors, Tepania said.
This incident would come as a “word of caution”.
“Just to be secure in their homes. It is incredibly tragic what has happened. We need to take extra care.
“I want to add if anyone in the community is feeling affected by this incident to reach out and seek support. This is not something anyone wants to happen in their home.”
Detectives and a scene-of-crime officer arrive at the Taraire St home where a homicide investigation is underway. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Officers responded to reports of an intruder at a Taraire St property around 11.30pm, a police spokesperson said.
“A struggle between the occupants and the intruder has resulted in one of the occupants being seriously injured.
“Sadly, despite efforts from emergency services, the victim has died at the scene.”
Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston of Northland CIB said police officers had been working to establish exactly what occurred, and had been speaking to a number of witnesses overnight to identify and locate the person who left the scene prior to their arrival.
“At this stage, no arrests have been made.”
Johnston said he acknowledged this was a “tragic incident” which would have shaken the community.
“We know residents will be waking up this morning to this shocking news and we want to reassure them our inquiries are well underway to locate the person responsible and hold them to account for their actions.
