Police believe a stabbing in Welcome Bay on Saturday night and the discovery of a teenager's body outside a Tauranga home yesterday morning are linked.
In a media statement issued this morning, police said the young man found dead outside a Tauranga property yesterday morning had walked half a kilometre with his injuries leaving a trail of blood.
Police would not reveal the cause of the man's injuries but said the scene examination indicated that he had walked for some distance following his suspected assault with a trail of blood leading from outside a Mansfield Street address where a party was held on Saturday night.
Police said it appeared the man then walked along Mansfield Street and Jane Way into the reserve before looping back to where he was discovered outside a second address Mansfield Street address.
He would have covered a distance of approximately half a kilometre and police would like to speak to anyone who saw a man in this location in the early hours of the morning.
Police believe there is a link between the man's death and an assault on Ohauiti Road near the intersection with Welcome Bay Road.
In this second incident a man suffered hand and facial injuries.
Police also believe that those responsible travelled to both locations in a vehicle and then left those locations in that vehicle a short time later.
The time which is the main focus of the police investigation is between midnight and 1am.
Police expect to be able to release the name of the man who died this afternoon once the post mortem and formal identification have taken place.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tauranga Police on 07 577 4300.
NZME.
