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Police say they are continuing to advance a homicide investigation after a woman was found dead in a car in east Auckland.
Police launched a homicide investigation after finding a body in East Auckland yesterday that they now believe to be missing, 55-year-old Elizabeth Zhong.
Photo: Liu Chen
Police found a body in search of Elizabeth Zhong, or Zhong Ying, a missing 55-year-old businesswoman, in Sunnyhills on Saturday, and a https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431689/police -launch-homicide-investigation-after-body-found-in-Auckland homicide investigation started]on Sunday.
Officers and operators still surrounded Zhong’s home at Suzetta Place in Sunnyhills today. The body was found a few blocks from Roadley Avenue.
Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers at Manukau County CIB said a post-mortem examination had been completed, but officers were still working on formal identification procedures.
“The police still believe that the woman located is Elizabeth Zhong, 55,” he said in a statement.
Elizabeth zhong
Photo: Supplied
Police will remain on the Suzetta Place property this week, as an examination of the scene will take some time, he said.
A neighbor said that Zhong was a private woman and what happened was a shock. He said he had noticed something unusual in recent months: A man who did not live there sat in a car guarding Zhong’s home.
“He would come two, three times a day and he would just sit on the street, he would never go out and he would for quite a while, and for the last three weeks, I haven’t seen him.”
He said it was a quiet street and the neighbors always looked out for each other, so he took notice of the man. He hoped justice would be served.
“It is very sad and an absolute shame and I hope that whoever did this will be brought to justice, because no one deserves that kind of treatment,” he said.
Flowers have been placed on the lawn on Roadley Avenue where the car was parked.
Photo: RNZ / Liu Chen
Another neighbor, Daniel, said that he and Zhong greeted each other often and said that she seemed to be a good person.
“I’m a little stunned … I really don’t know how to feel about it, especially since this neighborhood has been so quiet. I never expected this to happen,” he said.
On Roadley Avenue, where the body was found, flowers have been placed on the grass near where the car was parked.
Doris, who lives nearby, said she saw the car parked there Thursday. He said police arrived on Saturday and cordoned off the street and set up a huge tent around the car.
They stayed until after midnight and by Sunday morning, everything was back to normal, but agents were taking statements from neighbors, he said.
“I went out and took a look to see if the car was registered, that it was registered. It is registered until next November and I thought, well, it is registered, it belongs to someone. I didn’t touch the car and I didn’t know there was a body inside,” he said. .
“I’m sad for the poor lady, but I didn’t know her. I didn’t know she lived so close.”
Another woman living on the street thought it strange that the car was abandoned so close to Zhong’s house.
The police will continue to speak with people known to Zhong and examine the CCTV footage.
“There is now a dedicated team of investigators working on this investigation and they are determined to hold anyone responsible,” said Vickers.
