16 Dec 2016

Police watchdog to oversee investigation of Bremner hunt

12:57 pm on 16 December 2016

The police watchdog will oversee an investigation into how officers handled the search for an Otorohanga man who killed three people.

Ross Bremner case - Taharoa property

Police at the Kawhia Harbour property where the bodies of Bremner and two of his victims were found. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Ross Bremner went on the run in October after attacking his parents, leaving his mother dead and his father critically injured.

Police teams - including the Armed Offenders Squad - spent three days searching for Bremner in the Otorohanga area after the attack.

His body was eventually found at a remote property at Kawhia Habour, alongside the bodies of an elderly couple he had also killed.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority said it had been notified of the case by police, and it would proactively oversee the police investigation into their actions.

The coroner is also investigating, and the Waikato DHB is reviewing its care of Bremner, who was a mental health patient.

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