Victim was 'killed in her bedroom'

Press, 30 January 1988, Page 6

Victim was 'killed in her bedroom '

PA Wellington The Arrowtown homicide victim, Miss Maureen Ann McKinnel, was punched, strangled and stripped of her nightwear before her body was dumped, the police said yesterday.

Her body was dropped from the Arrow River bridge a month ago. The police revealed yesterday that Miss McKinnel, aged 38, was getting ready for bed on Boxing Day night when her killer struck.

“We believe she was in nightwear in the main bedroom when she was brutally attacked and killed,” said Detective Inspector John Rattray. “It is obvious she tried to defend herself but was over-powered. A postmortem report says there were signs on her body of bruises and grazes consistent with a struggle,” said Mr Rattray. “Murder is a shocking crime in anyone’s language and more so when it involves a young woman killed in her own home.

"We are determined to find the offender. But as time goes on we need the public’s help more than ever. The public will help

solve this one,” he said. “We’re keeping our options open to see if the killer was an intruder. We just don’t know for sure.” More than 40 suspects have been interviewed by the police and all but 10 have been eliminated. But the police are worried, that as the weeks go by, people who were passing through Arrowtown on holiday, and who could provide the vital break-through, will forget to tell the police the information needed. “Someone, somewhere, must have seen or heard something,” Mr Rattray said. “They may think we’re not interested in what they saw, or that we already know about it. “As late as this week we’ve been hearing of sightings of people or cars that might be helpful but the details are getting vague. We desperately need to get relevant information from the public before it’s too late,” he said.

Thousands of holidaymakers were in the region during the Christmas and New Year period and trying to track them all was a task that could take weeks. There were more than 2000 people at the camping ground alone. To spend the hours needed researching those addresses was a waste of resources and time — time better spent on other facets of inquiry, he said. “We’re hoping these people will contact us. We’re appealing to all those people who were staying in Arrowtown, or were here on day trips on Boxing Day or Sunday, December 27, to get in touch with us at the base or their nearest police station. They may just give us the key to solving this senseless crime.” Mr Rattray said forensic studies of samples taken from the victim’s home and the bridge were continuing.