Epsom double stabbing: the horror of a friend stabbing the death of a couple who came to New Zealand in search of a better life

A married couple who moved to New Zealand from India in search of a better life were fatally stabbed at their Epsom home and their engineering graduate son is fighting for his life in hospital.

AUT teacher Ranjana Gupta told the Herald she was shocked to learn that her former neighbors were dead.

“Who would kill them? I can’t understand that. There has to be some kind of motive behind the murder.”

Emergency services rushed to the property at the intersection of The Drive and Green Lane West after being alerted to the incident around 11:30 a.m. M.

They found two seriously injured people who died despite attempts by paramedics to save them. A seriously injured man was also discovered in the home and taken to Auckland City Hospital, where he remained last night.

A fourth person, believed to be a bystander who tried to intervene, suffered superficial injuries and was able to speak to the police.

Police confirmed yesterday that they were investigating a double homicide and that the people involved in the tragedy know each other, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said.

“This was not a random attack.”

Gupta said she and her husband own the property next to where the professional couple was killed.

She was a friend of the deceased, who was a “good lady” and helpful.

The woman, who worked at the University of Auckland, sometimes visited Gupta’s home to help with computer problems.

It is understood that the woman’s husband worked at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

The couple immigrated to New Zealand from the Indian state of Goa and moved to the apartment block around 2007 because it was in the Auckland Grammar area where their son was attending.

“She was a very good lady,” Gupta said.

“They are Christians; they used to go to church. They were very afraid of God. They were very humble people. They were also very helpful. They used to take care of our property when we were not there.”

Yesterday he received a call from his son informing him of the deaths, Gupta said.

“To be honest, it’s shocking. I don’t see any reason why they would be killed. It’s beyond my thought.”

The last time he saw the woman at the Royal Oak Pak’nSave supermarket was in February.

The woman told Gupta that her son, who had lived with the couple, had graduated from Massey University’s engineering school and started his career.

She also asked Gupta to make arrangements to trim the trees that hung over her boundary, because the woman was concerned that the foliage might damage a fence.

Gupta agreed and the tree cutters were dispatched to the property yesterday morning.

Gupta’s son told the Herald that a woman, believed to be the one who died, spoke to the tree cutters around 10 a.m. She was accompanied by a younger man who said he would take care of the branches.

He visited the property to check on work around 11 a.m. and said there were no signs of problems or disturbances, Gupta’s son said.

“We left after about five minutes and a half hour later I received a call from our tenants saying, ‘Something happened next door, that lady you know well has been stabbed.’

“As far as I can tell [the woman] He was happy at 10 o’clock, he talked to the boy in the tree and there was a young boy who offered to throw the branches and I don’t know what happened for the next hour and a half.

“I can’t really believe it, especially in Epsom. It’s crazy.”

Neighbors were equally stunned and scared, although Beard told the media that the police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the double murder and that the police would provide reassurance as they probed the community.

Today the couple’s autopsy exams will take place.

“I’m in shock,” one of the people said last night near the scene, where police dressed in boiler suits and detectives were seen coming and going nearby.

“Everything is normally so quiet here.”

Reva Kaushal was alerted to the tragedy two doors down when her husband saw several police cars outside and “an old man with a bandage on his hand.”

“I’m really surprised … and I’m a little scared.”

Another neighbor, Audrey Zhao, said she was relieved that her children, ages 6 and 9, were with her.

“Today is a day for teachers only, which is very fortunate. I am definitely nervous because he is very close to us.”

The deaths were “shocking and tragic for our community,” said Epsom Rep. David Seymour.

“There will certainly be many questions, and our community will want and deserve to know how and why this happened. In the meantime, we must adhere to the proper processes.”