Te Kuiti mother's death suspicious, say police

Te Kuiti police are treating the death of a 27-year-old mother of three, whose youngest child is just six weeks old, as suspicious. The woman's body was found by her partner at a house in a quiet suburban street in the town early yesterday.

Police were notified at 8.30am and said the woman had died some time that day. There was a gap of several hours until her body was found, they said.

The woman's partner called an ambulance after making the discovery at the house in Broadfoot Place. The exact time and cause of death were not known and a post mortem examination was to be carried out at Waikato Hospital today.

Senior Sergeant Rob Van Kalken of Te Kuiti said police feared the woman might have died in unnatural circumstances because of her age. "You don't normally get many 27-year-olds who look fit and healthy dropping dead," he said.