Pair charged with murder of ‘good guy’ Kiwi
THE grieving family of a Waikato man whose suspected remains were found inside his burnt-out car in an Australian forest say he was ‘‘honest’’, ‘‘hardworking’’ and a ‘‘good guy’’.
Homicide squad detectives have charged two people with the murder of former Morrinsville man William John Stevenson. His body was discovered on the outskirts of Bendigo, Victoria.
Mr Stevenson, 50, was living in Kerang, Victoria, when he disappeared two weeks ago. He had not been seen since leaving a friend’s house, near where the remains were later found, on Christmas Day.
His boss reported him missing after he failed to show up for work at Hazeldenes Chicken two days later.
A police officer found the burntout 1996 green Mitsubishi Magna during a search at the request of detectives. Detectives believe it may have been there for days.
Sister-in-law Tracey Stevenson said Mr Stevenson had lived in the Morrinsville area until he headed to Australia in 2011. He had spent most of his working life farming.
‘‘As difficult as it is, [the family is] coping as much as we can with family support,’’ she said from her Morrinsville home. ‘‘All I will say is he’s a hardworking, honest, trustworthy, good guy. He certainly didn’t deserve having his life taken away like this.’’
An Australian detective is due to visit Morrinsville within a fortnight as part of the investigation.
Ms Stevenson said the family did not know the two people charged with murder – Darren Lewis, 46, and Danielle Antionelle Kerr, 36.
Hazeldenes Chickens farming manager Karl Lawson told the Bendigo Advertiser Mr Stevenson had worked as a casual at the broiler complex since November 25 last year.
‘‘He was a really good worker, very conscientious. It was out of character for him not to turn up [to work] and not to phone and let people know. We had police involved trying to find him.’’