Attributable to Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard:
Following a post-mortem examination, Police can confirm the death of a man in Northland, Wellington is being treated as a homicide, and we are appealing to the public for information.
The deceased is 65-year-old Simon Bird, who lived at the Albemarle Road property where his body was found on Tuesday morning.
Mr Bird had not been heard from for several days, prompting a concerned friend to carry out a welfare check – leading to the discovery of his body.
We have established Mr Bird was last seen alive on Thursday 27 March, however we are continuing to piece together his last movements and the events that led to his death.
A scene examination is ongoing at the property and is expected to continue for the next couple of days. A silver Honda Odyssey (pictured) has been recovered from the address by Police and will be forensically examined.
Police are going to have an ongoing presence in the Northland community over the coming days. I urge anyone with information that could help our investigation to contact us as soon as possible.
We also want to speak to anybody who knew Mr Bird, as well as those who saw him, or his vehicle in the last week. This includes any CCTV or dashcam footage you may have of him or his vehicle.
As part of the investigation, we also want to hear from anybody in the Northland area who has noticed suspicious activity or movements in and around Mr Bird’s address on Albemarle Road.
What might seem like an insignificant detail to you, could be a missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle for us.
If you have any information that could assist Police, please contact us at 105, using reference number 250401/4530 and/or referencing Operation North. You can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre
