1979 Cold Case

**Maha** · 5th December 2011, 15:32

I heard earlier that a man has been arrested for the murder of the Turangi Service Station Worker in 1979?
The accused lived next door to us in the 60's and early 70's.
He had been arrested/charged soon after the shooting but was not convicted.
He had been to a party at Lochinver (sp) on the Napier/Taupo highway...left there to go see his two kids (marriage had split) and got to Turangi Servo...dude had just closed...Mr H got a gun out of the car and shot the guy..young boy 6-7 year old? saw it happen.
Mr H went back to party he had left earlier and spoke of what he had just done.

My sister worked for the Law Firm that handled the case in Taupo at the time.
She now works in media.
His was the only criminal case under lock and key in the office.
Alot of the evidence has been in the UK for all these years...forensics have now come to the fore.
His name has been suppressed so I cant say who it is but, two of my sisters has confirmed its Mr H.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10771038
His family once owned a Hunting shop in Pamerston North.
Mr H would set a target up on his lounge wall the lay on the floor in his bedroom at the other end of the house and fire his air rifle at it...
But it was the 60's afterall and people did dumb shit back then.

**nodrog:Me** · 5th December 2011, 15:46

its a fuckin setup, Mr H doesnt look like he could hurt a fly, let alone bust a cap in somebodies ass!

**JustNick** · 5th December 2011, 15:48

Originally Posted by Maha

I heard earlier that a man has been arrested for the murder of the Turangi BP Service Station Worker in 1979?
The accused lived next door to us in the 60's and early 70's.
He had been arrested/charged soon after the shooting but was not convicted.
He had been to a party at Lochinver (sp) on the Napier/Taupo highway...left there to go see his two kids (marriage had split) and got to Turangi BP...dude had just closed...Mr H got his rifle out of the car and shot the guy..young boy 6-7 year old? saw it happen.
Mr H went back to party he had left earlier and spoke of what he had just done.

My sister worked for a the who handled the case Lawyer in Taupo at the time and knows so much more about the case than I do.
She works in media.
His was the only criminal case under lock and key in the office.
Alot of the evidence has been in the UK for all these years...forensics have now come to the fore.
His name has been suppressed so I cant say who it is but, Two of my sisters has confirmed its Mr H.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10771038

His family once owned a Hunting shop in Pamerston North.
Mr H would set a target up on his lounge wall the lay on the floor in his bedroom at the other end of the house and fire his air rifle at it...
But it was the 60's afterall and people did dumb shit back then.

It sounds like there was some pretty compelling evidence for a conviction when it first happened? Do you have any idea why it took so long for an arrest to be made?

**Maha** · 5th December 2011, 15:58

Originally Posted by JustNick

It sounds like there was some pretty compelling evidence for a conviction when it first happened? Do you have any idea why it took so long for an arrest to be made?

No weapon...the little boy was too young to testify...?
I have no idea why now?...forensics?
But a number of people have known it he did it all these years..he had three christian names, he chose one of them and changed his first name soon after the murder..just swapped his names around.

**pritch** · 5th December 2011, 16:47

Originally Posted by Maha

Mr H would set a target up on his lounge wall the lay on the floor in his bedroom at the other end of the house and fire his air rifle at it...
But it was the 60's afterall and people did dumb shit back then.

Shit oh dear! I used to have a 10m air pistol range in the house and practice every day. And this was in the 90s.
I'd likely still be doing it if I didn't have arthritis in both shoulders...

So I'm wondering what this behaviour indicates other than that I was trying to improve my scores?

**nadroj** · 5th December 2011, 16:50

I went to school with the victim - Rod and his brother Lee in the late 60's. Rod played in a band we used when we organised the local dances at the Stratford war memorial hall around 73-75.

I bought a 56 Customline off them just for the diff for $30 to use in a bucket (hot rod) I was building at the time.

Turangi Rod & Custom club had a memorial run in his name we attended in the Model A in the early 80's.

**Maha** · 5th December 2011, 16:51

Originally Posted by pritch

Shit oh dear! I used to have a 10m air pistol range in the house and practice every day. And this was in the 90s.
I'd likely still be doing it if I didn't have arthritis in both shoulders...

So I'm wondering what this behaviour indicates other than that I was trying to improve my scores?

A wee bit odd...if you have two young daughters running around the house at the time.

**Edbear** · 5th December 2011, 16:57

Linky no worky for me...

**newhere** · 5th December 2011, 16:58

Jez wouldn't want him for my neighbor!!!!!!! Seems a bit stink that so many people knew it was Mr H and the family is only now getting any sort of justice

**nadroj** · 5th December 2011, 17:00

Try this one. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crim...er-1979-murder

**Maha** · 5th December 2011, 17:06

Originally Posted by newhere

Jez wouldn't want him for my neighbor!!!!!!! Seems a bit stink that so many people knew it was Mr H and the family is only now getting any sort of justice

I bumped into the bloke once or twice when I lived in Rotorua...he had a lockup across from me.
It was kinda weird talking to him after all those years knowing that he killed someone and got away with it.

**newhere** · 5th December 2011, 17:11

Originally Posted by Maha

I bumped into the bloke once or twice when I lived in Rotorua...he had a lockup across from me.
It was kinda weird talking to him after all those years knowing that he killed someone and got away with it.

I can only imagine, really who really goes around shooting people and carries on not a care in the world (implied as its 32 years off freedom he wouldn't have had if arrested and dealt with at the time) - its fucking shocking

**avgas** · 5th December 2011, 17:35

Interesting.
I wonder if my old man knows about him. I think he was in Turangi around then, doing his tunneller managers tickets with MOW.

Any idea on why he shot the victim, without going into too much detail.