The owner of a Kaitaia backpackers charged with stupefying and indecently assaulting at least 16 young men was investigated last year but not charged.

Police have been inundated with phone calls from potential victims and people with information about a Northland lodge owner accused of sexually assaulting young men.

Oscar Pistorius has been described as “broken” by an investigative journalist with exclusive access to the athlete, who will hear the verdict of his murder trial later tonight.

The mayor of a town where a woman and her three young children have been found shot dead says the local community is in severe shock.

Accused balcony killer Gable Tostee called his lawyer seconds after New Zealand woman Warriena Wright plunged to her death from his highrise Gold Coast apartment, court documents allege.

Hundreds of people are expected to gather for a public memorial service this week dedicated to the victims and survivors of last Monday's Work and Income shootings.

An investigation is underway after a bomb threat hoax at the Foxton Work and Income office last night.

More than 600 people gathered in the Ashburton Event Centre today to celebrate the life of Peg Noble, one of two women shot to death in Ashburton's Work and Income building.

Police investigating the double fatal Work and Income shooting in Ashburton say they have found a mountainbike and personal items which may belong to the suspect.

On Thursday the world will learn of the fate of Olympian Oscar Pistorius.

The tragic shooting of three women at the Winz office in Ashburton on Monday was shocking. Two women were killed and one is still in a serious condition in hospital.

Private investigators claim a series of mystery phone calls were made to slain farmer Scott Guy on the eve and day of his killing which may hold the key to the four-year-old murder.

New Zealand woman Warriena "Rrie" Wright was allegedly taunted and gasped for air in the seconds before she plunged 14 storeys to her death on the Gold Coast last month.

The morning began like all others for three women in the Winz office.

The funeral of slain Winz worker Peggy Noble will be held on Monday in Ashburton.

Police investigating the Work and Income murders had possession of the alleged shooter's gun for two days before telling the public they had located it.

About 300 people holding candles of hope wrapped their arms around one another and grieved for Peg Noble and Leigh Cleveland at a vigil near Ashburton's Winz office.

Prime Minister John Key has written an open letter to the people of Ashburton after the tragic deaths of two Work and Income staff in the town earlier this week

A man who indecently abused young boys over nearly a decade has narrowly avoided a sentence of preventive detention.

A man accused of savagely beating a parking warden is defending allegations against him, claiming he was not the aggressor.

A woman who was supposed to be at the Ashburton Work and Income office for a 9am appointment is counting her lucky stars she was late.

A public memorial service will be held in Ashburton in the next few days to pay tribute to Winz shooting victims Leigh Cleveland and Peggy Noble.

Chilling new details have emerged about the terrifying moments when three women were shot at Ashburton's Work and Income office.

Half the people who walk into Work and Income offices get turned down for something and usually get upset, a former frontline worker says.