Offender fled fatal Kaikohe home invasion barefoot after struggle
Police have given more details on a Kaikohe home invasion which left a woman dead last night.
Police said the woman who died was "a treasured member of the family" who had been trying to help other family members inside the home.
Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston said the offender fled the scene barefoot, leaving behind a pair of shoes and another item of clothing.
He said this detail "may stick in the mind" of anyone who was around Kaikohe at the time of the incident.
"This is an absolutely devastating incident for this family, who are not only coming to terms with the sense of violation of someone entering their home, but are now also grieving a vulnerable member of their whānau," Johnston said.
"Our team's priority is to locate the person responsible and the community can be reassured we are treating this incident extremely seriously".
Community in shock
Kaikohe locals are in shock following the death after a home invasion on Taraire St last night around 11.30pm. A struggle between the occupants and the intruder resulted in the woman being seriously injured.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, the victim died at the scene.
Ex-gang member and community leader Jay Hepi told 1News it was "an absolute shock" waking to the news this morning.
"This is a small town, everybody knows everybody, in this town and we're all affected by whatever happens in this town, even though we're wider whanau, we still have aroha for the whānau here and what has happened.
"It's totally devastating for the family, and for our community to know that the perpetrator went through her house, and this was the outcome."
Hepi said there's also a significant shortage of police staff in the area which is impacting everybody.
"It's time for the community, it's time for the iwi, it's time for the hapu to stand up and say, we've got to take responsibility, we've got to be part of this, we've got to support in any way we can to address these issues."
He said the victim was well-known and respected in the community and he extended his condolences to the whānau.
Another local, Sharmon Wilcox, said he was also shocked by the news and more needs to be done to find those responsible.
"To be honest I think the bloody locals should come out and find these buggers that have done it.
"Us locals should be out there trying to find out who was doing this because it could’ve been any of our houses."
Police want anyone with information on the home invasion death to come forward.
