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A 52-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault and burglary after Linda Woods, 71, died when an intruder broke into her Kaikohe home on June 1.
It comes after police raided a property on Taraire Street on Tuesday morning, where they spoke with a “person of interest”.
Police said a 52-year-old man had been arrested on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to appear in the Kaikohe District Court on Wednesday.
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Kaikohe local Angela Phillips has lived next door to the “person of interest” for the past three and a half years. She told Stuff that waking up to another police cordon had been a “shock”.
“To see all the police back again, but this time right next door, was another shock,” Phillips said.
Phillips said she knew the person charged by police, but didn’t want to say any more about him.
Although Phillips didn’t know Woods personally, she had attended her tangihanga on Monday night.
“You could feel the love in Linda’s home last night, it was so beautiful it took the fear away from you,” Phillips said.
“She was someone’s mother, someone’s grandmother, someone’s friend. You could feel the aroha.”
Woods will be laid to rest on Wednesday, on the same day the 52-year-old accused will make his first appearance at Kaikohe District Court.
Police were called to Woods’ home at 11.41pm last Thursday, after reports that an intruder had been found at the property.
Woods, a dialysis patient, was attempting to intervene to assist her family members when she was killed.
Police said there was a “struggle” between the houses’ occupants and the intruder, which resulted in Woods’ suffering “serious injuries”.
“Sadly, despite efforts from emergency services, the victim died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.
She shared the home with four generations of her whānau, all of whom are female, including, it’s understood, her grandchildren.
Detective inspector Rhys Johnston said police are not looking for anyone else but there is still a large amount of inquiry work continuing.
“I would like to thank the community for their cooperation throughout this investigation, particularly those who contacted the team to provide information,” Johnston said in a statement.
Johnston said police are “pleased” to have brought a resolution to Wood’s whānau.
“Her death was a tragedy, and we know that this has been felt deeply throughout the community,” Johnston said.
“We hope this arrest will bring some comfort to both Linda’s family and to the wider community in Kaikohe.”
The matter is now before the court, and police are unable to provide any further information at this time.
On Sunday evening, police determined the attack had been a “sexually-motivated burglary”.
“All occupants of the home are female, and we anticipate the offender has targeted the property for this reason,” a police spokesperson said.
Police also shared pictures of items the offender left behind at the property, including a pair of jean shorts and size 13 shoes (New Balance Versi Comfort Ride sneakers).
They also released a still image of the offender taken from a video one of the occupants filmed when trying to block the offender from leaving their property.
The image only showed the offender from behind, but police were confident there was enough detail to identify the man.
During the investigation, the other occupants of the home revealed to police there had been a pattern of “odd occurrences” at the property in the lead-up to the incident.
This involved clothing being discovered disturbed and interference with sensor lights and porch light bulbs.
An incident was also reported at the property in 2022, when someone reportedly reached in through a bedroom window, police said.
On Monday, police said they had made a significant breakthrough in the case, after finding a DNA sample they believed to have been the offender’s.
Police requested DNA samples from men who “fit the age range and description of the offender” so they could eliminate them from the investigation.
Police are not seeing anyone else in relation to death, but they will be continuing to make inquiries over the coming days.
“I would like to thank the community for their cooperation throughout this investigation, particularly those who contacted the team to provide information,” Detective inspector Rhys Johnston said in a statement.
“Her death was a tragedy, and we know that this has been felt deeply throughout the community,” Johnston said.
“We hope this arrest will bring some comfort to both Linda’s family and to the wider community in Kaikohe.”
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