Police reveal lead to celebrity designer's killing

By PATRICK GOWER

The sighting of a man acting suspiciously in an upmarket Auckland street is the first police lead in their hunt for the killer of a celebrity interior designer.

David McNee was found bashed to death in his $900,000 St Mary's Bay home in Hackett St on Tuesday night. He was last seen alive on Sunday. His black Audi-TT convertible was missing but was later found near Albert Park.

Police said last night that they were seeking a Maori or Pacific Island man aged in his early twenties seen acting suspiciously in the street on Sunday afternoon.

Mr McNee, 55, was found on his bedroom floor after a neighbour heard his two bassett hounds barking and called police. He was wrapped in a quilt. Blood was found on the bed.

Police have not revealed what kind of weapon caused injuries to his head.

The two dogs, Jasper and Felix, were running free in the three-storey house and had not left Mr McNee despite the front door being ajar.

There was no sign of a break-in, of anything being stolen or of a struggle. The bush-clad house is tucked behind security gates and controlled by a video surveillance system. Police would not say yesterday if they had any footage.

Mr McNee, whose first name was William, but went by his second name David, was a well-known member of the gay community. He was a successful real estate agent, and featured in the popular television shows My House, My Castle and Changing Rooms.

Sources close to Mr McNee have told the Herald he was known to "cruise" for sexual partners, which they fear may have led him to meet his killer. His car was known as a drawcard among the cruising scene.

Talk of the killing was widespread throughout the gay community yesterday, with many saying his lifestyle may have led to his death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Lance Burdett, said Mr McNee's lifestyle was not being investigated at this stage of the hunt for his killer.

He was unaware of Mr McNee's links to the cruising scene but said they had just started background inquiries and would look into any information that could lead to a suspect.

"We don't want to go on rumours or innuendo ... We just want to find out the facts of what has taken place in the bedroom and what led to Mr McNee's death."

Mr Burdett said anyone with any information on the killing could contact police in confidence, speaking directly to him if need be.

Mike Binis, editor of the gay newspaper Express, said cruising was a common practice, although he could not comment on Mr McNee's involvement with it.

He said the scene had a secretive side because many men involved were not openly gay or were protecting their family or gay partners. There was sometimes an element of prostitution involved.

"The notion of taking home a stranger met in a dark park means you don't know what will eventuate. Guys fantasise and forget they could become a victim."

Last year the police investigation of the stabbing of John Rogers at a notorious gay haunt in Tauranga came under fire in an article in Express which questioned the police commitment to the case and said homophobia in the city was hindering the inquiry.

Mr Binis said police could encounter difficulties in this case if the killing became linked to the cruising scene because they did not understand it.