Simon Buis - 1980

In the early hours of Good Friday (4 April) 1980, 54-year-old Simon Buis was found dead in Auckland’s Gribblehirst Park. He’d been violently assaulted suffering horrific injuries to his face and head.

Later that morning, two 15-year-olds were arrested for being in a stolen car. While speaking to police, the teens indicated that they had been in a fight at a park. The pair were charged with Simon’s murder however, after evidence was further reviewed, the teens were released six days later and the search for Simon’s killer continued. Despite a full scale homicide investiation and extensive enquiries the trail eventually ran cold.

Over 40 years later Simon’s case remains open and police remain determined to find the person, or people, responsible for killing the 54-year-old father.

Simon was a talented photographer and active in the Auckland art scene. He liked to to socialise and frequently drank at bars around the city. Friends described Simon as having a ‘larger than life’ personality but he could be argumentative and ‘bombastic’ when drunk.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard has been in charge of Operation Intrigue since 2006 and believes that the key to the case hinges around Simon’s movements in the last hour of his life.

Simon started his evening at the Leopard Tavern in Freeman’s Bay, then made his way to La Cava Lounge on Customs Street East where he interacted with at least three different groups of people. Simon called a taxi from La Cava and was dropped off on Symonds Street around 2:25am on Good Friday.

30 minutes later, a couple heard screaming followed by the sound of a noisy car coming from Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham and called 111.

The biggest piece of the puzzle missing for the Operation Intrigue team is understanding why Simon went Gribblehirst Park, how he got there and who he was with. The investigartors believe that it’s unlikely Simon walked the distance in the timeframe between the taxi dropping him on Symonds Street and police arriving to find his body outside the rugby club within the park.

Police spoke to a number of witnesses who were in Gribblehirst Park earlier in the evening as well as the couple who made the 111 call. The husband described seeing a light coloured Mark 1 Ford Zephyr, or possibly a large 1950’s American car, with a noisy exhaust and rounded body leave the park at speed. Two to three minutes later, a second vehicle possibly a yellow coloured FJ Holden, left the park in the same direction.

These cars remain of critical relevance to the Operation Intrigue team –

Were the occupants in the cars connected?

Do you know anyone who had a cars like these in the early 1980’s? If so, the Operation Intrigue team need to hear from you.

Did you see Simon in the hours prior to his death?

Are there further witnesses who saw the attack in the park but played no role in the violence?

Now is the time to come forward - It’s not too late to provide Simon’s family with some answers.

If you can help, call 0800 COLD CASE (0800 2653 2273) or email the Police Cold Case investigation team.

The Cold Case episode can be watched in full on tvnz+