Detective Inspector Chris Barry, Counties Manukau Police:

Police are continuing with a homicide investigation after a body was located in a vehicle on Alfriston Road this morning.

As part of this investigation Police are seeking sightings of the white Mitsubishi Outlander which was located at the scene.

Police are particularly interested in the vehicle’s movements yesterday evening or in the early hours of this morning across the wider Alfriston and Manurewa areas.

Police have been speaking with a man in relation to the incident today and this 31-year-old has since been charged with arson.

This man is due to appear in the Manukau District Court this afternoon.

Our investigation is still in the early stages and we cannot rule out further charges or arrests in this case.

A key focus for our enquiry team is to identify the person located deceased in the vehicle.

This person will have a family and our priority is to identify the victim and inform their next of kin.

Given the nature of the incident we are dealing with, the formal identification process may take time, so Police are unable to comment further at this point.

A post-mortem examination will take place tomorrow and we have a scene examination ongoing at this point on Alfriston Road.

Police have also been conducting an area canvas and speaking with people in the area.

Given an arrest has been made, Police are limited in commenting further on specifics of the investigation.

However, we can say that detectives have been making good process in the investigation so far.

I would like to reassure the wider Alfriston and Manurewa communities that we have a team of detectives working diligently on the case

Police believe this is an isolated incident.

Our scene examination is still ongoing, so we thank our community for their ongoing cooperation with the traffic diversions in place.

Anyone with information that may assist our enquiries is asked to contact Counties Manukau Police on (09) 261 1321 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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