Police may have Stanlake murder weapon

Police may have found the weapon used to kill Wellington man Tony Stanlake, whose handless, mutilated body was found on Wellington's south coast just over two weeks ago.

Detective Inspector Mike Arnerich said yesterday a number of "items of interest" had been found during crime scene investigations.

Asked if they included the murder weapon, he said preliminary tests had been carried out and he was hopeful police would be able to establish that one of the items was a murder weapon.

Environmental Science and Research were continuing to carry out tests on the seized items.

Police today returned to the capital's Happy Valley landfill -- near where Mr Stanlake's body was found -- to continue the hunt for the man's hands and clothing.

Police believe that the hands were disposed of in a rubbish bin, which was later dumped at the landfill. About 40 police -- including 32 recruits -- have been brought in to sift through the mountains of trash.

He said the search could take up to two days, but it would continue for the sake of Mr Stanlake's family and to help with CSI investigations.

Daniel Robert Moore, 21, of Lower Hutt, has been charged with Mr Stanlake's murder and Peter George Leach, 21, a butcher from Miramar, Wellington, charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Mr Arnerich did not rule out further arrests. He said police had been trying to establish other people's roles in the incident.

"We've still a lot of people to talk to," he said.

Mr Arnerich said the investigation was still focusing on establishing Mr Stanlake's movements on Thursday, July 6, the day he was last seen alive shopping at Bunnings hardware store in Newtown.

- NZPA