Two a penny

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Slippery fugitive William Stewart is styling himself “Billy the Hunted One” and appears to be enjoying his new-found notoriety.

A Teddington farmer, whose property was broken into by the 47-year-old, showed Stewart’s table-top calling card yesterday.

Stewart, who broke into the farm’s smoko room and helped himself to a meal the weekend before last, had carved his thanks into the dining table.

Stewart has been on the run since early February.

“Thanks guys, Billy the Hunted One,” he wrote.

He has five warrants for his arrest and is thought to have committed a string of burglaries and car thefts while on the run.

He has not been seen since he picked up hitchhikers in Hororata more than a week ago.

Police believed his latest crime was to swap a stolen car for a 2008 Hilux in Waddington, central Canterbury, on Tuesday.

“He helped himself to a nice meal of hot pies and coffee and wrote a thank-you note carved into the table.

The Teddington farmer, who declined to be named, said Stewart had been “sleeping rough” in the hills towards Gebbies Pass behind the property before he ventured down to the farm’s sheds.

“It was more that he had been watching and seeing where the keys were kept,” the farmer said.”

The fact that the door had not been forced but was opened using keys hidden on the property was unnerving.

The farmer said it was clear Stewart was “having a lot of fun and games”.

After carving his thanks, Stewart stole one of the farm motorbikes and blasted through a police cordon towards Governors Bay early on March 22.

However, police had called his antics “silly”.

However, police had called his antics “silly”. .

The Teddington farmer said Stewart, who had popped up in Tai Tapu the following day he evaded police in Governors Bay, obviously had some bushcraft skills as it was a long hike over the hills

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The man who strangled fiance’s dog revealed

By TAMMY BUCKLEY – Sunday, 01 March 2009

Wayne Williamsrepeatedly beat his fiance's beloved fox terrier with a metal pole then strangled it to death.
Williams pleaded guilty to wilful ill-treatment of an animal resulting in death and is to be sentenced at Manukau District Court later this month.
The SPCA described the death of the fox terrier named Gee Gee as "as one of the worst cases" of animal cruelty they had ever seen and hoped Williams got the maximum sentence the judge could impose.
Williams declined to comment about the case when approached him earlier this week.
Williams could face up to three years in prison or a $50,000 fine or both for the pet killing on November 11 last year. According to the SPCA's summary obtained by a shirtless Williams was witnessed by a teenage neighbour as he killed the dog.
He said he did not want to speak "at this time" and said he would have to talk to a solicitor before making any statement.
He was standing over and swearing at helpless Gee Gee while he beat the 12-year-old dog with a metre-long metal pole. .
The dog escaped the attack by scurrying under the Manurewa, south Auckland, house Williams shared with Gee Gee's owner his fiance but the 34-year-old driver coaxed the dog back out.
Williams then strangled the life out of the injured dog his fiance had lovingly raised since she was just a pup.
"The defendant walked towards the dog with the yellow pole and began hitting it again," the summary reads.
"The defendant strangled the dog until it went limp.
"The defendant then dropped the yellow
metal pole and picked the dog up by the neck. The defendant then placed the dog on a dog bed which was on the deck and covered it with a blanket. The defendant then placed the dog on a dog bed which was on the deck and covered it with a blanket.
When they asked him what had happened to Gee Gee he told them the black, white and tan foxy had died accidentally after he tried to free her after she became stuck under the deck at the rear of the house.
When SPCA inspectors visited Williams' property they found him "shaking and crying". He said he must have pulled too hard," SPCA inspector Victoria Border's statement reads.
"Wayne Williams replied that the dog had been stuck under the deck and he pulled her out by the hips. I did not think that it was large enough for the dog to fit into.
"I asked where the dog had been stuck and he showed me a small clearing to the left of the deck.
"I noticed a large amount of blood coming from the dog's mouth and there was a small amount of blood around the neck of the dog."
Border examined the dog at the house and discovered it had been injured.
The inspectors then removed the dog and an autopsy was undertaken which supported the witness's version of events. There were also spots of blood from the stairs of the deck to the dog bed," Border's statement reads.
It found the haemorrhage and contusions were not enough to have killed Gee Gee but the evidence of haemorrhage in the tissue around the neck was consistent with death by strangulation.
It found the haemorrhage and contusions were not enough to have killed Gee Gee but the evidence of haemorrhage in the tissue around the neck was consistent with death by strangulation.
Armed with the results, the SPCA executed a search warrant at Williams' home on November 14 and recovered the pole and informed Williams fiance of what had really happened.
was asked not to name Williams' fiance because she is still traumatised by the grisly incident, despite extensive counselling.
The couple, who had been together for five years, have since separated.
"She was beside herself and it was one of the hardest things I've had to do was sit down and tell her what actually happened because she totally believed what he said to her was the truth," Border said.
"She's (since) had extensive counselling and she's doing a lot better now."
Border said the witness, who was also "initially traumatised" was now OK.
At a subsequent interview with Border and SPCA general manager David Lloyd-Barker, Williams declined to comment on what had happened.
He was charged under the Animal Welfare Act and entered his guilty plea at his first court appearance earlier this year.
Williams appeared at Manukau District Court on Tuesday for sentencing but it was put off until later this month because pre-sentencing reports were incomplete.
Border told the dog killing was "absolutely one of the worst" cases of animal cruelty she had come across in her career.
"I'm lost for words really on what he did to that dog and what that dog would have gone through. It just makes me sick, to be honest," she said.
Border said, while there were no evident wounds on the dog, the extent and depth of the internal bruising was "disgusting".
"It just blows me away and it upsets me greatly that little dog had to go through such trauma.
"This dog was loved and cared for ever since it was six weeks old by the same person and to end its life like this, it's just so unacceptable."
Border said she did not know why Williams had killed the dog and hoped he would receive a significant sentence.
She praised the witness for her courage in calling the SPCA.
"So many people do not want to get involved with things like this," she said.
"(But) we have to bring people like this to justice and with people like her we are able to do it."If people see things please call us because we can't let things like this just be swept under the carpet, we have to investigate them and we have to bring these people to justice."

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Afternoon nightmare at the Manor

The Friday, 27 February 2009

JONATHAN CAMERON/
TO THE MANOR BURNT: Due to a water shortage, firefighters had to use water from a school pool to extinguish this blaze at the historic Manor Cafe in Sanson.

An exploding LPGcylinder is thought to have started a massive blaze at a landmark restaurant near Sanson, drawing fire crews from around the district in an attempt to save the historic wooden building on State Highway 1.
Fire service shift manager Murray Dunbar said the two-storey building, which was badly damaged, was "well alight" when the crews arrived. .
Mr Dunbar said that, at one stage, all internal firefighting was stopped and crews withdrew to attack the blaze from above.
The fire is thought to have started when a gas bottle exploded inside the building which also offers backpacker accommodation and a nighttime maze horror attraction called "Nightmares".
There were no reports of anyone inside the building. Because of a water shortage, firefighters used water from Sanson School swimming pool.

. Several fire crews remained at the scene last night

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Man admits luring boys on to his boat

Friday, 13 February 2009

The Crown is seeking preventative detention for a paedophile who used money, cigarettes and the promise of fishing trips to lure young boys on to his boat.
Owen Stanley Draper, 66, of Napier, pleaded guilty to 38 charges of sexual offending against 11 boys aged between 10 and 14 when he appeared in the High Court at Napier yesterday.
Crown lawyer Russell Collins indicated in court yesterday that preventative detention would be sought when Draper appeared for sentencing next month.
The can now reveal that Draper is a paedophile with three previous convictions. He was given a suspended sentence in 1996, periodic detention and a year's supervision.
He was convicted of indecently assaulting boys under 16 in 1986, 1988 and 1996. Several offences happened on Draper's historic boat, Ikatere, others in Napier and Tauranga.
His latest offending spanned the past eight years.
The mother of one of the victims said Draper came across as "a really nice, genuine, trustworthy guy". Some of the offending happened in the boys' homes. The trust you think you can put in somebody you really can't any more. "I just couldn't believe it when I found out what he'd done. .
"He just seemed like a nice person.
Detective Carol Romotowski, of Napier, said Draper's behaviour was typical of a predatory paedophile. Don't go with the children's view," she said.
"It took a lot for these boys to tell us about the offending and I really have to commend them for that.
"He preyed on the vulnerable and would promise them all the things their family would not allow or could not afford."
Draper was working as a forklift driver at the time of his latest offending. They were exceedingly courageous.
Ikatere is the last surviving of six kauri-hulled boats used by the navy during World War II.
He once served in the Royal New Zealand Navy and bought the partially restored 18-metre Ikatere in Nelson several years ago, fitting it out with a main bedroom, two smaller rooms and lounge areas as he intended to live aboard.

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Overseas buyers start new gold rush

By KAREN ARNOLD – Sunday, 01 February 2009

GOLD RUSH: New Zealand is poised for another gold rush but it’s unlikely anyone will be digging for their fortunes. Pictured is $100,000 worth of Kiwi gold.

New Zealandis poised for another gold rush but it's unlikely anyone will be digging for their fortunes.
New Zealand Mint head bullion trader Mike O'Kane said as the world recession deepened, more people wanted to safeguard their cash and saw the precious metal as an insurance policy.
As gold prices hit record levels, it's overseas buyers with money to spare who are turning their dollars into Kiwi gold.
O'Kane said that with the failures of large US investment banks, such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, demand for New Zealand gold increased.
The price of gold has doubled in the past two years and last week hit an all-time high, reaching $1745 an ounce. The failures coincided with NZ Mint doing a month's worth of transactions each day."
During the past two weeks one US buyer had bought $1 million in gold -about 570 coins -and was contracted to buy another $1m during the next fortnight.
"We've just started to see another surge in demand through fear and worry. "They're going to take that away with them.
"There's an Asian couple flying over to buy $500,000 worth," said O'Kane. NZ Mint would not reveal that buyer's identity for privacy reasons."
There have been two other recent $1m gold transactions one by a New Zealander. As well, there had been five $100,000-plus gold transactions in the the previous month. As well, there had been five $100,000-plus gold transactions in the the previous month.5cm high about the length of a ballpoint pen.
Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of gold, and stacked on top of each other they are 13.
O'Kane said New Zealand was regarded as a place where gold would be kept safe. And while $1m in notes would be the size of a pallet, the same sum of gold would fit in a shoebox.
Not all countries manufactured gold bullion and some made it difficult to buy.
About half the gold bought at NZ Mint was kept there in secure storage; the rest was taken away by the owners, he said. O'Kane said once a trader placed an order, it was confirmed within 24 hours and delivered to the client within one to four weeks. NZ Mint, a privately owned company, tried to make the process as simple as possible. A year ago the average gold purchase was about $25,000 a time, he said.
The number of Kiwi gold buyers was also increasing."
O'Kane said the drop in the NZ dollar and the ever-steady demand for gold was driving the price up."
O'Kane said the drop in the NZ dollar and the ever-steady demand for gold was driving the price up.
MINT'S MOMENTS
* Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of gold, and stacked they are 13.5cm high – about the length of a ballpoint pen.
* $1m in notes would be the size of a pallet, the same amount of gold coins would fit in a shoebox.
* NZ Mint buys refined gold from reputable suppliers throughout the world including Australia, Europe and Asia
* Once it arrives in New Zealand it is melted down and made into rough bars
* The bars are pressed repeatedly until they reach the desired coin thickness then discs are cut out and softened in an oven at temperatures of between 500 and 600degC.
* They are then "stamped" with a Kiwi on the top and map of New Zealand on the bottom of the coin
* A pure NZ Mint gold coin is the size of the old 50c piece.
* It weighs one troy-ounce = 31.1gms.

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Rescue dog held together with nylon and steel

– Tuesday, 27 January 2009

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REBUILT: When Jack the search-and-rescue dog was found bloody and lifeless after a hit-and-run, it was touch and go whether he would survive. .
Nearly two years and $12,500 later, Jack is back at work, now helping rescue people lost on the West Coast.

When Jack the search-and-rescue dog was found bloody and lifeless after a hit-and-run, it was touch and go whether he would survive.
After suffering multiple breaks to his pelvis, hips and back left leg, the only options for Jack were to be put down, or undergo extensive surgery at Auckland's Veterinary Specialist Group.
Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) member Malcolm York and Jack had worked together for four years when the blue heeler was involved in a hit-and-run outside York's home in Coatesville, Auckland.
"If I had to do a sausage sizzle outside The Warehouse every weekend for four years to raise the money, I would have done," he said.
York borrowed the money to pay for the surgery, determined to try to get Jack, now six, back into action.
As soon as Aucklanders heard about Jack's accident, donations from a sympathetic public began to flow.
York did not need to worry.
Those donations enabled Jack to be rebuilt, with a total of four screws in his pelvis and a replacement right hip.
They contributed $28,000 before York had to ask them to stop, with the excess going to LandSAR.
Intensive physiotherapy and hydrotherapy followed.
He also had two plates, four screws and two pins put in his back left knee.
York has relocated to Greymouth, where Jack has been involved in three West Coast operations since he requalified as a search and rescue dog in November.
Jack now runs through the bush without a hint at the network of metal and nylon that is holding him together.
"People look at him and they say, `You must be joking'," he added.
"You get him wound up and get him going and you can't tell," York said.
"We saw another dog which got similar kind of injuries but got the budget version and it was crippled.
Money talks when it comes to rebuilding a dog."
He said words could not express how grateful he was to the people who helped get Jack back on track.
"Jack is surprisingly fit and agile.
"The outpouring was just astronomical.
"I gave the paper a wee ring to ask if anyone wanted to make a donation to try to get Jack back," York said.

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Aim family wants to meet accused’s relatives

The Friday, 23 January 2009

The family of slain Scottish tourist Karen Aim arrives in New Zealand today seeking a meeting with the family of the teenager accused of her murder.
Brian and Peggy Aim and Karen's brother Alan plan to sit through the murder trial, which starts in the High Court at Rotorua next month.
The mother of the 15-year-old accused said the family intended to travel to Auckland for the pre-trial hearing on February 5. It was likely the families would meet for the first time at court. No formal approach had been made to meet the Aims, she said. .
"I think when we meet it will be an emotional time for all of us," she said."
Brian Aim told the Aberdeen Evening Express he would like to meet relatives of the 15-year-old boy.
Miss Aim died in Taupo a year ago this week. He said it would be an answer to his prayers.
The accused, who has been in custody since his arrest in March, cannot be named because of his age. The 26-year-old was on a working holiday when she was attacked while walking home at night after socialising with friends.

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Toddler drowning family’s fence plea ‘was refused’

By FELICITY ROOKES – Monday, 12 January 2009

The family of drowned toddler Summer Frank had asked months ago for their house to be fenced for the sake of their children.
The three-year-old died when she and her two-year-old brother Brodie wandered off and fell into an effluent pond on their Kapuni farm last week.
Their pregnant mother Kelly Hughes threw herself into the pond and pulled them out, but Summer died at the scene.
The children's grandmother, Ellen Frank, said the family had asked the farm owners several months ago to have the house fenced and tomorrow it will be, she vowed.
Kelly and her husband Aaron Frank are sharemilkers and moved on to the property in June. I had a big issue about how close the pond was to the house and wanted the section fenced in," Ellen Frank said.
"My biggest concern was getting the actual house fenced and I did actually ask for the pond to be fenced.
"It's a brand new house and we were all thinking surely they will fence it away before we move in and in the months down the track, and it didn't happen," she said. But after Summer's tragic death the Franks have decided to fence the house any way to protect Brodie.
She said farm owner Francis Mullan would not allow a fence to be built despite the family's numerous requests. He (Mr Mullan) never allowed it because he wanted the section levelled.
"The thing is Brodie is still here and there is no fence.
When the contacted Francis and Jenny Mullan last night they did not want to comment on the tragedy. It's not so much about the pond being fenced, it's about the house," Mrs Frank said.
The pond was between 100m and 200m from the Franks' home.
The pond was between 100m and 200m from the Franks' home.
Taranaki Federated Farmers president Peter Adamski said he was disappointed, after seeing a picture of the pond in the Herald on Sunday, that it was not fenced.
"The safety wasn't right and, OK, it's happened and nothing is going to bring Summer back, but we want to make sure it doesn't happen to another child," Ellen Frank said tearfully.
"In that respect the pond is a hazard and a fence needs to be put around," Mr Adamski said.
"It's the responsibility of the farmer to eliminate, isolate or minimise hazards to reduce the likelihood of injury or something occurring from it for the employee and the children.
"I would expect most houses would be fenced off otherwise stock would get in.
He said fencing around farm houses was expected and common practice."
Fencing around a farm house was not a major cost and there must be a fence to stop stock getting in, but it did not have to be childproof, Mr Adamski said. To what standard the fencing is, is a different story, but I would hope that farmers would fence a property if they have employed staff with young children to make sure the fences around the house are actually child-proof.
"I want it out there how farm houses need to have fences.
Ellen Frank said she would like fencing around farm houses to be made compulsory.
While a child-proof fence around an effluent pond would be costly, Mrs Frank said it would be worth it. .
"It's not impossible to fence off effluent ponds. There should be a big netting one with a slanted top on it so they (children) can't climb over it. It is possible and it would cost a lot of money but you would only have to do it once. Surely my granddaughter's life is worth more than what the cost of a fence is around a pond."
Taranaki Federated Farmers next executive meeting in February will discuss farm safety and raising awareness of water dangers on farms.
Summer's funeral will be held this afternoon in Hawera.

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Parents of dead men saw ice fall

– Saturday, 10 January 2009

Giles Brown
SCENE OF TRAGEDY: Debris from the fatal ice fall that crushed two Melbourne brothers lies at the face of Fox Glacier.

The parents of two men crushed to death by huge slabs of ice at Fox Glacier saw the collapse. .
Ronnie and Winnie Miranda were not aware that their only sons, Ashish, 24, and Akshay, 22, had been buried under tonnes of ice until horrified witnesses ran past them to raise the alarm.
The group took a walk to the glacier, and the brothers crossed safety barriers to get a closer view of the glacier's terminal face and take photographs.
The two men and their parents, all from Melbourne, were holidaying at Fox Glacier with three cousins from Auckland.20pm, more than 100 tonnes of ice fell about 5m from the glacier face and crushed them.
About 4.
A team of about 25 ambulance officers, DOC staff, police, firefighters and Fox Glacier guides worked until about 9pm on Thursday trying to recover the two bodies.
Ronnie Miranda and one of the men's cousins were taken to the site yesterday by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff.
Constable Paul Gurney, of Franz Josef, said he hoped more than 100mm of rain forecast for South Westland would wash away some of the ice and make it possible to recover Akshay Miranda's body.
After digging out the body of Ashish Miranda, the team decided it was too dangerous to carry on. "They have a lot of family in Australia and in India they are contacting.
"The family are obviously grieving at the moment," Gurney said.
Four tourists saw the Miranda brothers crushed and ran to raise the alarm."
When the ice fell, the other family members were on the path to the glacier but could not see the two men.
Guided walks on to the glacier continued yesterday, and DOC says this is the only way members of the public should attempt to get a close look at the terminal face.
The rope barriers put up by DOC to stop people approaching the glacier are between 100m and 150m from the face.
"We will review our systems, as there are always things to learn in these situations.
DOC South Westland area manager Jo Macpherson said dealing with people who jumped safety barriers and ignored signs was a big problem.
Fox Glacier was advancing, and this meant the ice at the front was pushed up steeply and was precarious. I am confident our procedures are robust," she said.
"You never know when a fall will happen," Macpherson said.
DOC staff who had been part of the recovery effort said they would not want to go within 25m of the face.
DOC staff members were stationed at the glacier yesterday to stop people crossing the safety barriers and would remain there over the weekend.
DOC staff members were stationed at the glacier yesterday to stop people crossing the safety barriers and would remain there over the weekend.
Conservation Minister Tim Groser, who visited Fox Glacier yesterday morning, said: "The human dimension to this tragedy is enormous. My heart goes out to the brothers' parents and family at this incredibly difficult time."
However, there was always a "degree of decision-making incumbent on those in the outdoors".
"I will await the outcome of the reports before deciding if there is anything more that can be done or needs to be done to prevent tragedies like this occurring," Groser said.

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Police pull body out of Heathcote River

Friday, 09 January 2009

RECOVERY: Police recover what is thought to be the body of a young man fom the Heathcote River today.

LATEST: Christchurch police have lifted a man's body out of the Heathcote River in Opawa.
The Fire Service provided a cherry picker to help with the recovery and the body was removed from the river at about 2. Watch video
The body wasspotted in the riverby a member of the public walkingnear Aynsley Tce in Opawa, southern Christchurch at about 10am today.
A large team of detectives were carrying out a scene examination of the western bank of the Heathcote along Aynsley Tce and the body has been taken away for an autopsy.20pm.
Although not positively identified, the body is believed to be that of a 44-year-old local man. Police say there are "unexplained circumstances".
Mallory Manning, a Christchurch prostitute, was beaten and dumped in the Avon River on December 18 and her murder remains unsolved. .
Police scaled back the search at the beginning of the year saying the chances of finding her alive were remote.
The scene is south of where 28-year-old Tisha Lowry disappeared after leaving a tavern in suburban Aranui on September 25.