Victim's family: Do autopsies on all who die alone

Wayne John Reid. Photo / NZPA

The family of an elderly woman murdered in her home want mandatory post-mortem examinations carried out on people found dead alone, after her killer almost got away with it.

Wayne John Reid, 59, was jailed for 10 years when he appeared in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.

Last November, a jury rejected his defence of insanity, finding him guilty of murdering 84-year-old Beryl Campbell, his neighbour of 15 years, in her West Auckland home.

Believing Mrs Campbell had been spying on him, Reid went to her unit in February 2008 on the pretext of talking about body corporate matters. There he strangled her - first with his hands and then with a towel.

He arranged Mrs Campbell's body to look as if she had died of natural causes.

Outside court, Mrs Campbell's granddaughter Adrienne Simmonds said the story could have had a completely different ending.

"If he had kept his mouth shut, he would have got away with the perfect murder," she said.

A murder inquiry was launched despite Mrs Campbell's death being ruled as being from natural causes.

Mrs Campbell's daughter, Jacqueline Campbell, told the court that police told her that someone had come forward with information, just hours before her mother's funeral.

"I felt like someone was playing a cruel, sick joke," she said in her victim impact statement.

She said people found dead on their own should undergo a mandatory autopsy.

Additional reporting: NZPA