Many shoppers may have passed dead woman

A policeman searches the New Lynn carpark where Nancy Peterson’s body was found in a parked car. Picture / Greg Bowker

Many shoppers at The Warehouse in New Lynn at the weekend may have passed a car parked there without realising the woman inside was dead.

The 54-year-old, known as Nancy as well as by her undisclosed Chinese name, was found with a head wound in her husband Kerry Peterson's car near the Rata St entrance.

She had been looking forward to her mother migrating from China.

A security guard made the discovery just after midnight yesterday, and police quickly launched a murder inquiry.

Mrs Peterson was slumped in the back seat of the grey-gold Mitsubishi Eterna, which the guard had noticed in the same place the night before.

Police believe the vehicle was there for at least 24 hours before the body was found.

Mrs Peterson lived with her husband and several Chinese students, including a niece, in Otahuhu.

The Petersons had been married for six years, and Mrs Peterson is believed to have worked long hours across town in New Lynn, staying overnight occasionally with friends in West Auckland.

The Herald understands she worked in a restaurant, either as a waitress or kitchenhand, but the police have yet to confirm the nature of her employment.

Inquiry chief Detective Senior Sergeant John Sutton said passers-by on their way to or from The Warehouse might have seen Mrs Peterson without realising she was dead, as a jacket or coat was draped over her head in the locked car, concealing her wound.

He appealed for anybody who could recall seeing the car to contact Henderson police.

"It appears the vehicle was in the carpark for all of Saturday - this is a busy shopping complex so some people may have seen the vehicle, and the body would have been visible to anybody next to the car."

Mr Sutton would not speculate on the weapon used or the nature of the head wound, which a post-mortem examination confirmed as the cause of death. Police have yet to establish whether she died in the car or elsewhere.

Neither have they yet formally named Mrs Peterson, saying they are still working through interpreters to contact relatives in China.

The Herald understands that Mrs Peterson once obtained a non-molestation order against a third-party - not her husband.

Mr Sutton would not comment on that, saying only that the police were still examining her background for any suggestion of previous violence against her.

The police were still talking to her relatives in NZ, and would seek help from the Asian crime squad.

The car was taken away yesterday morning for forensic examination, but the carpark remained closed to the public for several more hours as police looked for a weapon or other clues.

Mr Peterson, who works in central Auckland as an accounts clerk and is believed to be in his early 50s, was too distraught last night to comment.

It is understood he was home when police first called early yesterday, within an hour or so of the discovery of his wife's body.

A relative said that although Mrs Peterson had been absent for two nights, her disappearance was not reported to police because of her habit of staying in West Auckland.

* Anyone with information should call the Henderson police on (09) 839-0664.