Knife found in Good Samaritan case

Published: 11:57AM Tuesday September 30, 2008 Source: NZPA

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Police have found a knife they believe was probably used to stab Austin Hemmings in an Auckland inner city lane last week when he want to the aid of a woman.

Detective Senior Sergeant Gerry Whitley says the investigation team has recovered two knives from the immediate area since Saturday.

"We believe one of them is most likely the weapon used to kill Mr Hemmings, but both have been sent to the ESR for forensic examination."

He says police are returning to the lane on Tuesday in the hope it will unearth more clues to the fatal stabbing.

Hemmings died in Mills Lane last Thursday when he answered a woman's cry for help and was stabbed in the chest.

A 45-year-old man was charged with assaulting the woman Hemmings went to help and is likely to face a murder charge when he appears in court again next month, police say.

A mobile police station from the Counties Manukau police district is due to be stationed in Mills Lane.

Whitley says having the mobile police station in Mills Lane will hopefully go some way to generating some new information about the events immediately before and after Hemmings' death.

He says they have made significant progress in the past few days but "we are still focused on finding the taxi driver who we believe has driven the offender - albeit unwittingly - from near the scene of Mr Hemmings' death.

"We'd also like to hear from anyone who worked in or frequented the area who saw anything suspicious before or after 5.30pm on Thursday, September 25."

The mobile police station is also due back in the area on Thursday - a week to the day since Hemmings died.

"Uniformed officers at a mobile station might just encourage people, who might not otherwise take the time, to approach us and help with whatever information they can," Whitley says.

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