Police are following “positive lines of inquiry” in the murder of a 79-year-old woman in the Wellington suburb of Khandallah last week.
Helen Gregory was found dead in her home on Baroda St last Wednesday, and a post-mortem revealed her death was the result of “a violent act”.
Over the last week, police have been conducting inquiries up and down Baroda St, and a scene examination at Gregory’s home is ongoing.
Neighbours of Gregory’s described her to RNZ as a keen gardener, and a quiet woman who kept to herself.
One neighbour, who did not want to be identified, told RNZ Gregory, who had gone to school with their aunty, spent a lot of her time gardening.
They said she was “very old school” and people would have mixed opinions about her - she either liked you, or she did not.
The amount of gardening she did and the layout and size of her hilly property helped keep her fit and out of a retirement home, they said.
Further up the road, neighbour Steve Watt said residents on Baroda St were anxious for answers in the next few days.
“It’s pretty sad really to know that someone in your own street and neighbour, especially an older lady living on her own, that that’s happened, you know, to someone like that, especially in a quiet little street like this. But I suppose there’s a few concerned residents but they just want to know what the full story is.”
Watt has lived on Baroda St for 20 years and said during his time there he only saw Gregory a handful of times. He said she was a quiet lady who kept to herself.
Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard says police believe her murder was an isolated incident, and there is no risk to the wider community.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact police on 105 and quote file number 240125/1641.
Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.
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