Police investigating Taupo murder release CCTV images

The image taken at 2.06am. Photo / NZ Police

Police investigating the murder of Scottish tourist Karen Aim have released security camera images of a person on a bike taken on the night she was killed.

Ms Aim, 26, was killed as she made her way home from a night out in central North Island town in the early hours of January 17.

She was found in a pool of blood on a street corner near Taupo Nui-a-Tia College on January 17 by police investigating vandalism at the college.

This afternoon Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner released two images of a person on a "retro cruiser" type push bike at the school at 2.06am and 2.10am that morning.

The earlier image has the school's tuck shop in the background, while the later one shows the person riding across the school quadrangular.

Mr Turner said the images were recorded at the time it is believed the school buildings were damaged.

"We also know from our timings that Karen Aim would have been in the vicinity of this college from about 2.11am onwards," he said.

The person in the photos is wearing a white bracelet on their right arm.

Mr Turner said the bike rider - seen wearing a white bracelet -was "certainly a person of interest" who had been in the college when windows were being broken.

"He or she is certainly in the vicinity of where Karen Aim would have been walking that morning," he said.

"A focus of the homicide inquiry is to identify the person shown in the images. This person may have information that would lead to the person or people responsible for the damage to the College."

Anybody who can identify this person or has any information that could lead police to identify this person should contact the investigation team said Mr Turner.