A homicide investigation has been launched in Christchurch after the body of a Dunedin youth was found in a park.
The 16-year-old youth, who had lived in Christchurch for a couple of months, had facial injuries when his body was found in the Riccarton park by police after an anonymous call.
The caller had left the scene by the time emergency services arrived and police want to speak to him.
The victim's family have been notified of his death. Police have yet to make a formal identification and will not release the youth's name until after the postmortem is conducted.
The victim was European, with short ginger hair, pale skin, and of thin build. ‘‘Now we know who he is, our next focus is to determine where he's been and who he's been associating with,'' Detective Inspector Greg Williams said.
He would not say why the youth had come to Christchurch, but did say he had been to school in Christchurch at some stage. He had attended school in Dunedin last year.
The youth's parents lived in Dunedin and knew their son was in Christchurch, where he had been staying with extended family. Det Insp Williams said he had spoken to the family in Dunedin and they were devastated.
‘‘It is clear from the preliminary examination at the scene that this young man has been assaulted,'' he said.
The youth had not been living near where his body was found in Auburn Park, a small neighbourhood reserve in Upper Riccarton.
A focus of the inquiry is finding the man who called St John at 5.47am. Det Insp Williams said the man told ambulance staff there was a body in Auburn Park and that he would stay until paramedics arrived.
‘‘He didn't do that and a focus for us also is to locate that person and speak to them.''
Police cordoned off a phone box near a dairy and block of shops in Riccarton Rd, about 800m from where the body was found. The body appeared to have been in the park overnight.
Det Insp Williams said police wanted to know what had happened in the area on Tuesday night and urged anyone in Auburn Park, a BP service station opposite the park in Riccarton Rd, or the nearby Church Corner area, to contact them.
A team of about 30 police has started canvassing residents in houses surrounding the park and seeking security camera footage from the area. More staff may be brought into the investigation.
Auburn Park, a small grassy reserve with only two entrances, runs between Auburn Ave and busy Riccarton Rd, with dozens of properties backing on to it.
The body was expected to be removed from the scene and a postmortem held this morning. - NZPA
