October 11 2015

Update on Operation Waitarere investigation

Below are the main points from the media stand-up given by Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Forlong in Waitarere this afternoon.

• The investigation is making good progress and we've had a large team of staff working through the weekend to build a full picture of the events which led to the death of Alex Fisher.

• There are several avenues which the enquiry is pursuing.

This includes assessing all the information we've received from the public, as well as forensic testing on items of interest recovered from where Alex's body was discovered.

• We are also investigating a burglary in Waitarere.

This is of interest to us, and we are working to establish what connection this burglary may have with our enquiry.

• We've received a steady stream of calls to our 0800 number over the weekend.

(0800 234 7437) We're very grateful to those members of the public who have called us.

We are assessing the information which has been provided as we work to establish the full picture about Alex's death.

• We still need residents in Waitarere to tell us if they found anything unusual in their property, or there are items missing.

If you are returning to your property today at the end of the school holiday then please check around and call our 0800 number if you have any concerns.

• We also need any sightings of Alex or his brother Eric on Sunday or Monday - either together or by themselves.

• Police are keeping the family informed about the investigation, and we ask media to continue to respect their privacy as they grieve.

• It is important that I stress to the community in Waitarere that we have no information to suggest that there is any wider risk. We understand this has been a shocking event for the community to go through, however it is important that people continue with their day-to-day lives without fear.

• We know there's speculation about whether Police have recovered a weapon.

All I will say about that is that we are going through a detailed forensic examination of all the items we have recovered - both at the scene and elsewhere.

This will establish what, if any relevance they have to the investigation.

We will not be going into any detail of what those items are.

• We also know that there has been speculation about the involvement of particular individuals.

We will not be discussing any specific individuals, however I can say that we are keeping an open mind about the involvement of any person in our investigation.

• We announced yesterday that Alex had suffered head trauma.

We will not be giving any further information on this aspect, and we stress that the cause of death is a matter for the Coroner to determine.

END

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