KEY POINTS:
The family of a New Zealand businessman fatally shot by Queensland police are puzzled by claims he was mentally ill when he confronted officers at his Pacific Pines home near Broadwater on the Gold Coast on May 31.
Alan Kent Dyer, 49, was shot once in the stomach after he was said to have lunged at police with a 30cm knife.
The former millionaire and high-profile dietary supplement king died from the gunshot wound in Southport Hospital soon after the incident.
News reports from Queensland immediately after his death described him as mentally ill and depressed - reports the family think came from the police.
His partner, named only as Chantal, told the Gold Coast Bulletin she believed that Mr Dyer had lost the will to live and wanted police to shoot him.
But at a memorial service for Mr Dyer in Kaitaia on Sunday, family members questioned the allegations about his mental state.
Sister Tracey Dyer and nephew Alan Gilling said Brisbane mental health authorities had told them they were not aware of his being on any medication for a mental health condition before his death.
Nor were Brisbane authorities aware of his being a patient at any agency in the state, they said.
Mr Gilling said Queensland police had told the family they were looking into claims about Mr Dyer's condition.
The family's only contact so far with Queensland police had been through a liaison officer with whom family members spoke after they rushed to the Gold Coast.
Mr Gilling said a coroner's report on the circumstances of his uncle's death was due soon but the family had been told a police investigation could take up to two years.
Tracey Dyer said she did not hold any animosity against the individual officer who shot her brother.
"I don't know how many times we've watched this sort of thing on TV. We just want to ensure now it's investigated properly so it doesn't happen to someone else."
Mr Dyer was born in Christchurch and became a top furniture salesman before helping to establish the dietary supplement company Herbalife International in New Zealand in the 1980s.
