Taupo Homicide: Operation Waikato Update

New Zealand Police National News Release 12:41pm 20 January 2008

Overnight the team of 50 Police staff working on Operation Waikato, investigating the death of Karen Elizabeth AIM, continued to work on the investigation.

A major task is collecting CCTV footage from various premises in Taupo. After collecting the CCTV footage there is the equally large job of enhancing and viewing the images.

The scene examination at Taupo nui-A-Tia College was also completed overnight. The information and exhibits from that scene are now being collated and examined by staff.

Other early tasks such as the area enquiry phase are also approaching completion.

All these jobs were large and time consuming.

Det Senior Sergeant Greg Turner has reiterated to the investigation team, on a number of occasions, that these and other phases of this homicide enquiry are all important. And that the detail supplied in these phases will draw together, over time, to give an accurate account of what occurred on the night concerned.

Mr Turner is mindful that the family of Karen AIM in the Orkney Islands, in the north of Scotland deserves to know what exactly happened to Karen that morning. The Police investigation team that Mr Turner leads is working deliberately and carefully to gather all that relevant information.

Mr Turner for the third day running repeated his call to the person or persons that broke the windows at Taupo nui- A- Tia College to come forward.

Mr Turner says that this call to come forward has been received substantial publicity and he would be surprised if the person or persons responsible for the damage had not heard it.

Today, as well as examining all the correspondence and evidence collected to this point, the investigation team will continue to speak with people who are helping to build the overall picture of what has occurred preceding Karen's death at about 0230am on the 17th January 2008.

Mr Turner says that this investigation is a major Police investigation. The investigation team is working towards resolving this eminently solvable homicide. The team of 50 staff is upbeat and focused.

ENDS

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