GUILTY NZ - Sean McKinnon, Australian tourist, shot dead, campervan robbery, North Islands Raglan, Aug 2019

[JudgeJudi]

Waikato Police have revealed the male suspect they are hunting after the Australian tourist was killed will be "known" to members of his community.

Pitkethley said, "Police are working through a number of leads in terms of people of interest, but again I appeal to the public that they will know who is involved in this incident, and for them to come forward and contact police as soon as possible. We are working through with a number of people who have contacted police with information".

Victim in Raglan camper van homicide revealed as Victorian man Sean McKinnon

 

[dotr]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/australian-killed-new-zealand-canadian-escapes-1.5249297

New Zealand police found the van at 8 a.m. local time about 75 kilometres away with the body of the Australian inside. (TVNZ)

"I want to reassure the public that we are working hard to identify and locate the offender," Pitkethley said. "It is our absolute priority."

Police deployed SWAT-style teams to the scene, and all police in the region began carrying guns as a precaution. New Zealand police typically don't carry guns on routine patrols, keeping them stored in their cars instead.

An Australian tourist was killed and a Canadian woman escaped during an attack at the Te Toto Gorge lookout in New Zealand. (CBC)

 

[otto]

Names of both victims have been released. He was a musician and surfer, she is a midwife.

"A Halifax woman is in "shock and distress" after her Australian fiancé was shot and killed in New Zealand. Sean McKinnon, 33, was found dead in his van near the village of Gordonton early Friday morning.

According to police in New Zealand, McKinnon and his partner were sleeping inside a van when a suspect approached the vehicle and fired a number of shots into it. His fiance was 32-year-old Bianca Buckley who is originally from Halifax. She is currently working as a midwife in Auckland, New Zealand."​

Halifax woman 'shocked and distressed' after fiancé shot dead in New Zealand - HalifaxToday.ca

 

[Jealoushe]

ugh, this is just deja vu.

 

[dotr]

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/wor...ments-of-aussie-surfer-killed-in-new-zealand/
"A resident who assisted Mr McKinnon’s terrified fiance, who had run barefoot for help down the remote winding road, described details of the ordeal.

She told the New Zealand Herald the stranger had been erratic when he woke the couple.

“He was erratic, had asked for help,” said the resident who comforted Ms Buckley.

“The partner [McKinnon] said they could help and tried to defuse the situation.

“The assailant guy was looking for the keys, he wanted to get away. He wanted to get back to Hamilton.”

“She had just woken up out of a deep sleep to a commotion. Her partner was half asleep fumbling to try and get the keys.

“Then something happened. Her boyfriend changed his tone. He was less calm and the guy [offender] just seemed to shift in that moment.

“Then he smashed the window with the barrel of the gun and put the gun through the window and shot him twice.”

“He pushed her out of the van. She asked if she could get some clothes because she was naked.
“She got herself out of the van, got her clothes on and hid.”

Comforting Ms Buckley in the early morning as they waited for police, the resident told the newspaper they talked about the couple’s relationship and plans.

They had met in South Africa on a surfing trip and became engaged in December 2017, announcing their nuptials on Christmas Day.

But an ocean separated the pair, with Sean working as a carpenter in Tasmania and Ms Buckley living in Auckland and working as a midwife.

Whenever they could they would get together and Mr McKinnon had only just arrived in New Zealand for their surfing trip when tragedy struck."

 

[Arizona 123]

“He was erratic, had asked for help,”

Hrmmm. I think I'm safe in saying that drugs, alcohol, or severe mental disorder (or some combination thereof) played a role here.

I am puzzled, though. It seems like the female interacted a little with the killer before she escaped, yet there's no description at all by the police of the killer, not even approximate height or general build, which even in the dark would probably be noticed. Any reason the police might hold the description back?

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

ugh, this is just deja vu.

The similarities are astounding, huh?

 

[Abundance]

New Zealand Police on Twitter
Arrest made.........
Waikato Police investigating the death of a 33-year-old man following a serious incident in Raglan have arrested a man overnight.
Waikato Police make arrest following homicide investigation
Saturday, 17 August 2019 - 10:02am
Waikato
Attribute to Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley, Waikato District Crime Manager:

Waikato Police investigating the death of a 33-year-old man following a serious incident in Raglan have arrested a man overnight.

At around 11pm, Police carried out a search warrant at a rural Waikato address.

A 23-year-old man was located at the address and has been arrested in connection to the death.

He has been charged with a number of serious offences including Murder, Aggravated Robbery and Threatens to Kill and will be appearing in the Hamilton District Court later this morning.

Police are now in a position to confirm the identity of the man who was killed.

He was 33-year-old Sean McKinnon, from Australia.

The family has been spoken to by Police this morning and advised of the arrest.

This is a traumatic time for his family and his partner and the New Zealand Police will do everything we can to provide them with support they need.

I want to thank those in our community who contacted Police with information and assisted us with our investigation.

I also want to acknowledge the hard work from the investigators involved in this case. It is because of their dedicated efforts and the assistance from the public that Police were able to make an arrest within 24 hours.

We know this was an alarming incident that shocked people right across New Zealand and overseas.

We want to reassure the public that the safety of our community is our priority and we will do everything we can to find those responsible for serious crimes and hold them to account.

ENDS

Nick Baker/NZ Police

 

[tmar]

Man charged over Aussie tourist death

Kate Kachor
26 mins ago
...
A man has been arrested and charged with murder over the shooting death of an Australian tourist Sean McKinnon in a remote part of New Zealand.
A 23-year-old was taken into custody around 11pm last night after police executed a search warrant at a local rural address.

"This scene is currently still under guard and will be subject to a forensic examination later on today," Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley told reporters.
"What I can tell you, that a 23-year-old local male will be appearing in the Hamilton District Court later on this morning being charged with murder and a number of other offences."
...
The man, whose identify has not been released, remains under police guard and will face Hamilton District Court later this morning on a murder charge and a number of other offences.

The accused killer then drove off with the campervan with the Victorian man's body still inside.

The campervan was found abandoned with Mr McKinnon's body inside in Gordonton, 80km away.
....

 

[Kubirai]

Girlfriend identified as Bianca

"Mr McKinnon’s terrified fiancee, a 32-year-old Canadian woman named Bianca, who was also in the van, escaped the attack and ran several kilometres for help in the early hours of this morning.
​

Bianca Buckley, from Halifax. Another NZ Harald article has comments from the local woman who helped her call police.

The shooter said he didn't want to kill her. She asked to take some clothes from the van, as she was sleeping without clothes. She hid until the guy left with the camper van.

 

[cody22]

***.....moo

 

[Kubirai]

The man, whose identify has not been released, remains under police guard and will face Hamilton District Court later this morning on a murder charge and a number of other offences.

NZ police do not identify suspects until court appearance, during which defence lawyers often seek a ban on publishing names and details.

Grace Millane of UK was murdered in Auckland in December, and there is still a ban on publishing the name. I bring her up again because Lucas Fowler and Sean McKinnon may have been incorrectly linked to a group of volunteers, through her visit to Peru in Oct 2018.

Seemingly random roadside murders, but these murderers may have been somehow brought towards these victims. Just a concern, hoping no other volunteers or presumed volunteers die.

 

[they'll get you]

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/wor...ments-of-aussie-surfer-killed-in-new-zealand/
"A resident who assisted Mr McKinnon’s terrified fiance, who had run barefoot for help down the remote winding road, described details of the ordeal.

She told the New Zealand Herald the stranger had been erratic when he woke the couple.

“He was erratic, had asked for help,” said the resident who comforted Ms Buckley.

“The partner [McKinnon] said they could help and tried to defuse the situation.

“The assailant guy was looking for the keys, he wanted to get away. He wanted to get back to Hamilton.”

“She had just woken up out of a deep sleep to a commotion. Her partner was half asleep fumbling to try and get the keys.

“Then something happened. Her boyfriend changed his tone. He was less calm and the guy [offender] just seemed to shift in that moment.

“Then he smashed the window with the barrel of the gun and put the gun through the window and shot him twice.”

“He pushed her out of the van. She asked if she could get some clothes because she was naked.
“She got herself out of the van, got her clothes on and hid.”

Comforting Ms Buckley in the early morning as they waited for police, the resident told the newspaper they talked about the couple’s relationship and plans.

They had met in South Africa on a surfing trip and became engaged in December 2017, announcing their nuptials on Christmas Day.

But an ocean separated the pair, with Sean working as a carpenter in Tasmania and Ms Buckley living in Auckland and working as a midwife.

Whenever they could they would get together and Mr McKinnon had only just arrived in New Zealand for their surfing trip when tragedy struck."

HUH? Well that was very kind of him.....he might get leniency
“He pushed her out of the van. She asked if she could get some clothes because she was naked.
“She got herself out of the van, got her clothes on and hid.”

 

[they'll get you]

“He was erratic, had asked for help,”

Hrmmm. I think I'm safe in saying that drugs, alcohol, or severe mental disorder (or some combination thereof) played a role here.

I am puzzled, though. It seems like the female interacted a little with the killer before she escaped, yet there's no description at all by the police of the killer, not even approximate height or general build, which even in the dark would probably be noticed. Any reason the police might hold the description back?

Yup there it is right there. I bet he'll say he can't remember a thing and a two-bit lawyer will plead insanity.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

New Zealand police have charged a man with murder after a tourist was killed in a seemingly random attack on a van that sparked a large manhunt after the victim’s Canadian fiancee reported the shooting.

Police have identified the dead man as 33-year-old Sean McKinnon of Australia.

The woman, identified by Canadian sources as Nova Scotia native Bianca Buckley, was in the van with McKinnon when someone fired shots into the vehicle.

She escaped unharmed.

The 23-year-old suspect made his first court appearance Saturday to face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and threatening to kill.

Police arrested him late Friday after heavily armed officers searched for him all day. His name was not released.
https://www.ckom.com/2019/08/17/pol...-shocked-after-fiances-murder-in-new-zealand/

 

[JudgeJudi]

A man charged over the death of an Australian tourist near Raglan on New Zealand’s North Island has appeared in court for the first time.

A 23-year-old man — who cannot be named for legal reasons — fronted Hamilton District Court this morning charged with murder and a number of other offences including aggravated robbery and making threats to kill.

Ms Buckley managed to escape on foot in the dark to a nearby farm for help while the gunman drove off in the campervan, with Mr McKinnon’s body inside, police said.

Judge Noel Cocurullo granted the alleged killer an interim name suppression and remanded him in custody to reappear in the High Court at Hamilton on August 27.

Man charged with murder after Australian tourist killed in New Zealand

 

[JudgeJudi]

McKinnon's body was later found inside the abandoned campervan, almost 80 kilometres away.

The suspected gunman was arrested after police raided a property at Tauhei on the outskirts of Hamilton late on Friday night.

He appeared in Hamilton District Court this morning charged with murder, aggravated robbery, threatening to kill and driving disqualified.

Police have yet to find the gun used in the attack.

SM’s elder sister speaks to the media.

NZ manhunt ends with murder charge after Australian surfer shot dead in van

 

[JudgeJudi]

The man charged with SM's murder is named in this video, no doubt before the suppression order was made. He is 23 years old. Two images of him are included in the video. It looks like he may be the father of a small child.

The area was remote with no homes nearby and no mobile reception. Bianca, covered in blood, ran barefoot up a steep and winding road in pitch black for nearly an hour to get help.

NZ man in court over Australian surfer's death

 

[Abundance]

'I feel like I failed', flatmate of alleged Raglan shooter says
Armed cops swarm rural area

Barking dogs and speeding car sounds woke Merita Profitt and her husband up somewhere between 10.30pm and 11pm on Friday.

The pair live on her brother's farm in Tauhei, about a house away from where the arrest took place.

It's left them wondering - did the alleged shooter walk right past their place with a weapon, and consider going in?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Sean McKinnon, 33, was travelling around the country in a campervan with his Canadian fiancee Bianca Buckley when he was shot dead on Friday morning.

A 23-year-old man was remanded in custody when he fronted Hamilton District Court on Saturday, charged with murder and other offences including aggravated robbery and making threats to kill.

An interim suppression order was placed on his name, at least until his next court appearance on August 27, New Zealand Police confirmed.

He was arrested at a rural Waikato address on Friday, following a tip-off from the public.

Members from the McKinnon family travelled to New Zealand and faced the suspected gunman in court before speaking to the media about their heartbreak.
NZ man behind bars over Aust surfer death