Man who almost got away with neighbour's murder

Wayne Reid. Photo / NZPA

Wayne Reid almost got away with murder when he crept into his elderly neighbour's unit and strangled her with a towel.

Believing Dorothy Beryl Campbell had been spying on him, he attacked her first with his hands, and then wrapped the towel around her neck to "finish her off".

And had he not confessed to his family, a murder inquiry would never have been launched - her death had been signed off as from natural causes, her flat had been cleaned and Mrs Campbell's body was hours from cremation when police were called.

Yesterday, after Reid was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland of murder, Mrs Campbell's family called for changes on how similar deaths were investigated.

Reid had pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity.

After strangling Mrs Campbell, the court heard, Reid had arranged her body on the couch to look as if she had died watching television and having a cup of tea. He then climbed back over the fence that separated their units in Henderson, West Auckland.

"She'd been placed, she'd been staged by the perpetrator," daughter Jacque Campbell told the Herald.

Emergency services had not noticed anything suspicious when her body was discovered. Apart from a small graze on her face, there were no apparent injuries and no forced entry.

Jacque Campbell said concerns were raised by embalmers who did not think it looked like a natural death.

"They said it looked like a hanging. They said her head looked like it belonged to another body."

The trial heard that Reid described the murder to family: he told them he "finished her off" with the towel after seeing she was still breathing.

Mrs Campbell's sister Frances Raddeker believed an autopsy should be compulsory when people die alone at home.

After Reid's confession, an autopsy on Mrs Campbell confirmed she had died from compression to the neck and not a heart attack as the death certificate stated.

"Irrespective of how old a person is there should be an autopsy done to ascertain [what happened]. This case has obviously highlighted that. If it wasn't for the fact these people stepped up and said something he would have gotten away with it," she said.

The family believed there could have been more evidence if an autopsy was done before the embalming.

The family had cleaned the flat after Mrs Campbell's death, unaware it was a murder scene. The jury heard Reid returned after the murder wearing rubber gloves to wipe away his fingerprints.

Granddaughter Adrienne Simmonds said that within half an hour of the body being returned to them, police had called with the shocking news, preventing them from saying goodbye properly.

They did not want another family to go through what they had.

"We don't know how many cases have gone through. We don't know if it's happened before," Mrs Raddeker said. "I think the coroner should be accountable. They made one big mistake."

Mrs Campbell's doctor, Dr Antony Svenson, had been reluctant to sign the death certificate because he had seen her only days earlier and she was fit and well, despite her 84 years.

Police were set to perform a post mortem examination but Coroner Richard McElrea had rung Dr Svenson about 1am to ask why he had not signed the certificate.

Dr Svenson told the Herald he was told by the coroner he would be "happy" if he signed it because of the woman's age and risk factors, including hypertension and diabetes.

Based on what he heard from the coroner and how she was found, he had signed it - but now wished he had not. The doctor said he did feel some pressure. "Who am I to question the coroner? These are the guys I ring up for advice."

But in fairness to the coroner there was unlikely to have been a similar case, he said.

He did not think it was practical to give every patient a post mortem so it was a question of "how far we go".

A spokesman for the Chief Coroner, Judge Neil MacLean, said the concerns would be discussed with Mr McElrea.

Reid was remanded to the Mason Clinic, Pt Chevalier, until December 2, when his sentencing date will be set.