KEY POINTS:
Police hunting for Joanne Wang's killers yesterday focused on a street metres from her home after finding the burning four-wheel-drive that knocked the bag-snatching victim to the ground in a Manukau carpark.
Mrs Wang, a 39-year-old bakery owner, died from head injuries after being hit by a white 4WD in the Westfield Manukau carpark on Monday afternoon, just minutes after a passenger in the vehicle stole her handbag.
As the hunt for her killers intensified yesterday, firefighters were called to the Manukau Sports Bowl on Te Irirangi Drive after neighbours noticed a burning car in the corner of the carpark.
Detective Inspector John Tims last night confirmed that the badly burned vehicle - which had been stolen from Glen Innes on Monday - was the one police had been searching for in connection with Mrs Wang's death.
It was yesterday undergoing forensic examination, both at the scene and then later at another location in more detail.
Burning a vehicle in broad daylight was a "strange" thing to do and Mr Tims said it could be a sign of mounting pressure the offenders were feeling due to the growing publicity about the vehicle and its connection to Mrs Wang's death.
"Maybe they are rattled and not thinking through their plan."
The Manukau Sports Bowl is 1km from the Westfield carpark where Mrs Wang was struck and about an equal distance from her home in Derrimore Heights, Clover Park.
After the 4WD was recovered, almost a dozen police officers and forensic experts were seen combing Rochas Place - which runs off Derrimore Heights. Residents said the officers questioning people about the possibility of the vehicle being parked on the street over the past three days.
"One of the neighbours called the police after seeing the car which matched their description parked here, but when the cops got here, it was gone," said resident Robyn Leech.
Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said: "If it is the same car, then it is very shocking indeed knowing that it was parked barely 200m from where the victim lived."
She had noticed the white 4WD parked in a public carpark towards the end of the cul-de-sac since Monday - the same day it was stolen and Mrs Wang was knocked down.
The resident speculated that, given the proximity to Mrs Wang's home, the bag snatchers might have been watching her for some time to see whether she was carrying the daily takings from her work home each day.
Police have been unable to comment so far on whether the bag snatchers were gang members. However a teenager who was near the Sports Bowl watching firefighters extinguish the burning car told the Herald handbag snatching was one of the ways to get "initiated into gangs like the Killer Beez".
"It ain't surprising, because to get into the gang, you just gotta do what you gotta do," he said.
Mrs Wang's family were yesterday still struggling to deal with her sudden death. Her neighbour, who gave her name only as Lisa, said Mrs Wang's son, who was in the car with his mother when her bag was stolen from the centre console - was in a "totally devastated state".
"The boy just couldn't stop crying, and cuddled up to me when I visited them on the night Mrs Wang died," she said.
Mr Tims said Mrs Wang's family were still "very, very upset and traumatised" and had yet to fully interview her son.
While the 4WD has been recovered, police still want to hear from people who saw it in the past few days.
