Murder inquiry: Person shot dead in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland; armed police cordon off street. Video / Hayden Woodward
More than two months have passed since an elderly man was allegedly shot dead in his own south Auckland home, but the person responsible remains a mystery as police continue the homicide investigation.
The death of rugby league coach and enthusiast Peter Rasmussen, 75, came days after Auckland was plunged into lockdown as a result of the latest Delta outbreak.
It shocked the Ōtāhuhu community where he lived, especially those associated with his much-loved club, the Ōtāhuhu Rovers Rugby League Football Club, where he spent much of his time.
But two months on, it's still unclear who was responsible for his death.
Police can be contacted by calling 105, quoting file number 210822/9740, or information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
"A large team are still working on this investigation and have spoken to numerous people in order to establish the circumstances leading up to Peter's death," Barry said.
Armed police guard the scene of the alleged fatal shooting. Photo / Hayden Woodward
He said the investigation team had made "excellent progress and we are confident that we will be able to hold those responsible to account".
Peter Rasmussen
Rasmussen had been a stalwart of the club for about 60 years, and had lived in his Princes St East home for about half that time before he was the victim of a fatal shooting.
Rasmussen started at the rugby league club as a young player before he coached for at least 15 years. He eventually became an "old boy" and life member, who passed down "words of wisdom" to the young players.
"Everyone looked up to him and waited for his comments after a game of course, which were always straight to the point," club president Wallace Dumper said.
Rasmussen attended games every weekend up to his death.
Dumper said he was involved with five players who went on to become captains of the national rugby league team, the Kiwis: Ruben Wiki, Mark Graham, Richard Barnett, Roy Christian and Hugh McGahan.
"What the hell happened?" Dumper told the Herald at the time of Rasmussen's death.
"What went wrong? No one knows how it came about. That just adds another level. When [people die] naturally, you can handle it, but when you go before your time, especially a shooting, people are pretty upset."
