Mystery surrounds ‘rogue’

Press, 11 September 1989, Page 8

Mystery surrounds ‘rogue’

PA Wellington Police are trying to brpak through the mystery which surrounds the life — and now the death — of a slain man, Garth Muir Doull. A homicide inquiry was launched after Mr Doull’s body was found floating in Wellington harbour on Friday. / Mr Doull, who had used many other names, was yesterday described by one person who knew him as “a rogue, but a nice rogue.” Few details are known about Mr Doull, aged 42, who is believed to have come from Auckland. The police said he apparently did not have a permanent home in New Zealand and did not have a regular job. According to his friends, the police were trying to track him down in connection with a series of bounced cheques days before his death. The head of the 18person. homicide investi- , gation team, Detective Inspector Norman Cook,

yesterday described Mr Doull’s background and movements as a “bit of a mystery.” “We know a fair amount about him. But we want to know a fair bit more about his lifestyle.” Detective Inspector Cook said Mr Doull was known to the police, but he was reluctant to comment further on his background. The body had been in the water for at least five days and possibly up to two weeks.

The last reliable sighting of him was on August

Mr Doull had not suffered open injuries such as a stab wound, but had injuries not consistent with accidental drowning, he said.

The preliminary cause of death had been put as drowning but the police could not exclude the possibility he had been dead when he entered the water.

Mr Doull had moved about a lot, Detective Inspector Cook said. He was

known to have spent time in Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga and Picton, as well as Australia.

The police wanted to talk to anyone who knew Mr Doull and had information about his recent movements.

Mr Doull also used the names Garth Davidson, Peter Muir Johnson, Graham Davidson, and others.

Detective Inspector Cook said the police planned to set up a confidential telephone line for anyone who wanted to give information. “It may well be people who were closely related to him may be reluctant to speak to us. We are prepared to speak to anyone and entertain requests from them if they can assist us.” Mr Doull was known about the Wellington hotel scene and was apparently well liked, he said. He had briefly lived in a house in Hanson Street, Newtown, and the police were planning to talk to people in the area.

A neighbour in the street said yesterday that Mr Doull, and a woman aged about 30 had been staying at the house for only a couple of weeks. They had kept to themselves and, apart from seeing Mr Doull walking in and out several times, the neighbour had ' not seen much of them.

The couple who own the house said they knew Mr Doull as Graham Davidson. “I knew that wasn’t his real name,” the woman said.

The couple, who first met him only a month ago, said he was a friendly, non-violent man who loved playing jokes. He openly told them he was bouncing cheques and shortly before his body was found the police had visited the couple, wanting to talk to him about these cheques. “He liked his booze and his TAB,” the man said. “He loved talking about how much money he had made. He said he went through it like water.”