Drug dealing linked to decapitation
A man decapitated during a homicide in Lower Hutt was suspected to be involved in the sale of synthetic cannabis.
Frank Tyson, 71, died in a block of flats in the suburb of Petone on Friday night. A neighbour told Stuff yesterday there was a gathering at the apartment at the time.
Detective Inspector Shane Cotter would not speculate on any potential motive for the killing but confirmed Tyson was decapitated. Neither the victim nor a 41-year-old man arrested on Saturday were gang members.
A witness to the homicide’s aftermath, who did not want to be named, told Stuff that gang members and associates were in attendance at a gathering at the apartments. They had planned to rob the victim of homemade synthetic drugs and about $10,000 cash he had made from selling them.
The victim was heard repeating the line ‘‘this is the last thing I have to do before I die’’, the witness said.
Police, including armed officers, arrived soon after. A 41-year-old man was arrested on what police say were unrelated charges. He is due to reappear in Hutt Valley District Court today.
The witness said she was told the decapitation happened in the ‘‘old school’’ way. ‘‘[The victim] seemed like a really depressed person but he was nice to other people . . . He was really kind.’’
A woman who lives in the area – known locally as ‘‘the Bronx’’ – said Tyson would drive people to score marijuana and synthetics for a small price.
She said there was tension between Tyson and a man who had recently moved into the neighbouring apartment block.
The man had been beaten up by gang members the day before Tyson’s death, the woman said.
A neighbour said Tyson was a ‘‘good bloke’’ who would ‘‘drive a ghetto taxi, for a price’’.
The man said Tyson had lived at the flats for about 20 years, and was well-known for dealing synthetics.
‘‘What happened to him comes with the territory but apart from that he was a good bloke.’’
Hutt City councillor and Petone resident Tui Lewis, who knew Tyson, said neighbours had raised with her that he was involved ‘‘somehow’’ in the sale of synthetic cannabis out of the Housing New Zealand property.