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Police investigating the murder of retired Opotiki schoolteacher John Rowe say there is no link between his death and that of a 20-year-old woman whose body they exhumed.
The woman died a day after Mr Rowe and her body was disinterred from a family burial site on Friday as a result of information suggesting her death was suspicious.
Detective Inspector Rob Jones, who is heading the investigation into Mr Rowe's death, said there had been considerable speculation in Opotiki that the two deaths were linked, but the woman's death had now been referred to the coroner.
"I am satisfied that at this time there is no available evidence to suggest that her death was suspicious," he said yesterday.
"There is [also] no evidence at this time to indicate that the death of the 20-year-old female is in any way linked to the murder of Mr Rowe."
Mr Rowe, 78, was found dead on the morning of November 27. The woman's body was found the next day.
Mr Jones said an initial postmortem examination on the 20-year-old found her death was not suspicious, but further inquiries were carried out and her body exhumed as a result of information passed to police by her family and members of the public.
He would not elaborate on the information.
The second postmortem examination was carried out on Saturday, and her remains returned to her family and re-buried that evening.
Thirty officers are working on the Rowe murder case.
