Wellington police believe car passengers could hold key to ‘career criminal’ Craig McKelvie’s murder

Craig McKelvie in 2009. Photo / File

Wellington police believe the occupants of a car may hold crucial information about the death of a “career criminal”.

Craig McKelvie died in October last year after he was found seriously injured at a home in Lower Hutt. Since his death, police have reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and now want to speak with the people inside a silver or light-coloured car that was parked on Mason St – the street where McKelvie was assaulted.

Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Todd said the car was parked on the street when two other suspect vehicles entered it.

“CCTV shows the car parked on Mason Street, near the northern end of Randwick Crescent. It was still on the street when two suspect vehicles, in one of which McKelvie was a passenger, entered Mason Street. The light-coloured car was only a short distance away, and the people who were inside it may have crucial details about what happened to Mr McKelvie.”

Anyone with information about this car, or its occupants – or the occupants themselves – are asked to contact police on 105 and quote file number 221015/8888. Police say they are determined to hold the people responsible for McKelvie’s death accountable.

After his death it was revealed the 52-year-old had a history of offending - including a recent assault on an elderly man who had taken a hit out on him.

During the trial, Judge Davidson described McKelvie as a “career criminal”, with a history that spans from the mid-1980s right up to 2021, including a conviction for attempted murder.

On the evening of May 3, 2021, McKelvie and an associate went to the address where an elderly man, his victim, was visiting.

Throwing petrol on the man, McKelvie described the threatening act as impulsive. The pair then assaulted the victim, punching and slapping him in the face and striking him with a hammer.

McKelvie’s victim suffered significant injuries including burns to the stomach, neck and forearm as well as bruising from the physical attack.

The court heard that McKelvie denied involvement in a number of acts outlined in the summary of facts, including the throwing of the scalding hot water, the striking of the man with a wheel brace and the theft of a credit card.

In December 2005, McKelvie kidnapped a woman who was forced to watch as her dog was shot in front of her.

The 20-year-old woman was exercising her crossbred dog in a Riverbank St park when McKelvie allegedly drove up in a car, pointed a sawn-off shotgun at her and ordered her and the dog into the vehicle.

They were then taken to an isolated part of the Akatarawa Cemetery, where McKelvie allegedly loaded the gun and allegedly pointed it at the woman before shooting the dog.

McKelvie pleaded not guilty to seven charges including kidnapping, threatening to kill and wilfully ill-treating an animal, and the Wellington District Court judge had no choice but to dismiss the charges after the complainant failed to show up to court.