Murder near former PM's home

A killer was last night on the loose after stabbing a man to death in a boarding house around the corner from the Mt Eden home of former prime minister Helen Clark.

The victim, a man in his early 20s who has yet to be named, was fatally stabbed at the Eden Park Lodge in Onslow Rd around 3am.

Clark attracted public controversy when she objected to the boarding house being built nearby. She was accused of NIMBYism - "not in my back yard" - while authorising the building of welfare institutions in other people's neighbourhoods.

But this is the second serious incident at the boarding house this year. In January, a man in his 40s was left with serious head injuries after being bashed with a baseball bat.

Lodge resident Charles Kara, who lives on the second floor, said he heard people arguing and fighting on the floor above about 3am.

"I went outside to see what was going on and I saw a guy jumping out of the window and over the balcony. He climbed down, jumped the rest of the way and took off," he said.

He did not recognise the man as a resident of the building.

Kara said the man looked about 25-years-old and was wearing a green T-shirt.

Another resident, who would be identified only as Steven, said the victim and the man who left were not residents. They were visiting a friend who lived on the third floor.

"There was a party and P-smoking going on. There's always parties and fighting. This one just got out of hand," he said.

Detective Inspector Bruce Shadbolt said police had launched a homicide investigation after finding the man lying in a pool of blood in a hallway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police officers stayed at the house all day yesterday interviewing residents. A forensic team examined the scene and the man's body was taken away yesterday afternoon. A post mortem examination will be carried out today.

Last night a police spokeswoman said police were still canvassing the area and did not know how many people were involved in the murder.

The lodge manager, Kay - who declined to give her surname - said the visiting men were not residents. "I don't know how they got in. The doors have security and you can't get in without a code. I don't know what happened because I wasn't there."

Ten years ago Helen Clark joined forces with local residents to block construction of a 61-bedroom extension to the boarding house.

The Auckland City Council approved the three-storey lodge in spite of 100 objections.

Clark's husband, Professor Peter Davis, declined to comment yesterday.

A Cromwell St resident said she did not feel safe in the area because of the boarding house.

"I wouldn't walk down Onslow St at night because I don't feel safe. I have had people shout obscenities at me as I walk past. There is a rough element that I notice around that house.

"I work in the mental health service and I know the kinds of people who live in boarding houses," she said.

About 70 people live at the boarding house. The lodge owner, Ronald La Pread, declined to comment.