Rural BoP death couple named

Two bodies were discovered at this Pukehina address yesterday. Photo / Alan Gibson

The couple found dead at a Bay of Plenty house yesterday have been named as Scott Crawford Meikle and Gail Marie Almond.

Police and ambulance services discovered their bodies at a property in Pukehina, east of Te Puke, about 4pm.

Mr Meikle was 43 and Ms Almond 41. Police said they were in a relationship.

Bay of Plenty police district field crime manager Detective Inspector Mark Loper would not speculate on the cause of death, but said earlier there was nothing to suggest a third person had been involved.

The investigation had only just begun and many details were still unconfirmed, he said.

Yesterday Mr Loper said the deaths were being treated as suspicious.

Police secured the scene overnight and a detailed examination began today with help from ESR forensic scientests.

Investigative staff carried out inquiries in the area.

He expected police and ESR to remain on site until at least the end of Tuesday.

"The bodies of the deceased will be removed from the property late this afternoon and will be taken to Auckland for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death. At this stage the post-mortem is scheduled to take place tomorrow morning.

"Until the post-mortem has been completed and we have received those results we will not be speculating on the possible cause of death, nor whether any weapons may have been involved.''

Mr Loper said 18 police staff are working on the investigation.