Wife hopes new evidence will reveal farmer's killer

The wife and son of slain Hawke's Bay farmer Jack Nicholas are hoping potential new evidence uncovered last week will eventually lead police to the killer.

"I've hoped every day," said Agnes Nicholas yesterday, who found her husband shot dead in their driveway early on August 27, 2004.

"Every day since this happened, I hoped someone would be found."

On Thursday, a specialist police search team found two firearm cartridges in a house in the beach community of Haumoana. They have been sent for forensic analysis but police maintain they are not close to making an arrest.

The Grove Rd property had already been searched during the inquiry, but a review of the case file prompted police to return, said Napier CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Gregory.

Murray Kenneth Foreman was living at the house at the time of Mr Nicholas' death. Now at another Haumoana address, he refused to speak to the Herald on Sunday yesterday. The current tenants of the searched property, Amber Rose and Ryan Scott, said Mr Foreman had left the flat dilapidated after keeping his motorcycles in the living room. The landlord took two trailer-loads of rubbish from the property after Mr Foreman moved out.

There was no running water in the bathroom - the man and his young son used the kitchen sink to brush their teeth and Mr Foreman would shower at work.

Herald on Sunday inquiries show Mr Foreman bought a black, double-cab Nissan ute the day before Mr Nicholas was shot.

Police are now asking for sightings of a red or orange-coloured 1981 Mazda 323 in the Puketitiri area at the time of the murder.

Mr Gregory would not comment on whether police had spoken to Mr Foreman after the new evidence had been found, but hoped the renewed interest would prompt memories.

"We're still committed to solving this. Look at Teresa Cormack - it took 18 years to solve that."

Mr Nicholas' son Oliver had initially been a suspect, but said he never worried what others thought of him. "We are forever hopeful that they will find the guy."