22 Dec 2016

Fatal motorcycle crash was homicide - police

2:34 pm on 22 December 2016

Police are now treating a fatal motorcycle crash in Bay of Plenty last month as a homicide.

Police are seeking any sighting of the burnt out vehicle found near the banks of the Raukokore River, not far from where Don Henry Turei died.

Police are seeking any sighting of the burnt out vehicle found near the banks of the Raukokore River, not far from where Don Henry Turei died. Photo: NZ Police

Police believe Don Henry Turei Junior, 38, was purposefully hit and killed by a white Honda Odyssey-type van in the Raukokore River near Te Kaha in late November.

A burnt-out vehicle was found not far from where Mr Turei died.

Mr Turei and his brother, who was travelling on another motorbike, were on their way to a wedding reception when the crash happened.

Detective Inspector Lew Warner said witness accounts and forensic examination results clearly showed it was a deliberate act.

He said they would like to speak to anyone who saw a white Honda Odyssey in the area that weekend and for information about the driver and or passengers inside it.

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