www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR 2012
THE VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY 24/7
4
SLEEPS TO GO
P8
Guardian
Ashburton
www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
Friday, December 21, 2012
FIRST PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 1879
from Professionals Real Estate
Martin Dodson text 021 74 33 94
Call OJ 0800 12 14 14
www.professionals.co.nz
Home delivered from
Licensed Real Estate Agents
Methven Real Estate Ltd
90c Casual $1.20
Murder arrest brings relief By Susan Sandys There was huge relief in Ashburton yesterday after an arrest was made following the vicious murder of Sina Solomona on Saturday. A youth was arrested on Wednesday night. Ashburton residents in the vicinity of the attack, which occurred at Sina’s home on Cass Street, spoke of their relief. Devon Tavern 2ic Toni Guy said when she heard the news via a patron shortly after police announced it yesterday morning, she waited until she had it confirmed via the television news. There had been so many rumours flying around since the murder and she was not sure which ones were true. “It’s a big relief, thank God for the family,” Miss Guy said. She said she would like to see the offender tried as an adult. “I hope they do try him as an adult, because if he can do that, he should be charged as an adult,” she said. A patron, Laura Davis, said the Solomona family often visited the pub and were always friendly, and Sina herself had been happy go lucky and cheeky. The family would sit at a corner near the pool table so they could play pool, and would always invite her to come over and spend time with
“Bubbly”, “chatty” and “friendly” Ashburton mother Sina Solomina was brutally attacked in her home in the early hours of Saturday morning. them. She thought it was “awesome” an arrest had been made. Another patron made an off the cuff remark that police should hand the murder suspect over to the family “for just five minutes” to see what would happen to him. Donna Favel at the Regent
Cinema praised the police “for all their hard work”. Police had been out relentlessly searching the surrounding area including rubbish bins in hot weather over the last few days. The cinema is across the road from the Salvation Army shop where a
bloodied hand print was found, just a couple of streets from the murder. Fellow cinema owner David Favel said he had seen a rumour via Facebook on Wednesday night that someone had handed themselves in, but after all the rumours of the previous few days he did not believe it. The cinema had been contacted by people wanting to send flowers to the family since the murder, and he said it was fantastic that now an arrest had been made. Minister Tevita Taufalele of the Ashburton Methodist Church, where Sina’s funeral will be held tomorrow, said the Solomona family themselves and the wider Pacific Island community were also relieved. “I think it will be a huge relief,” he said. Mr Taufalele particularly felt for the three-year-old daughter of Sina, who did not understand the enormity of what had happened in her life. He hoped people did not lose their faith and trust in the community from such a tragic event. It was a huge challenge to find the right words and the right kind of spirit when such an awful event had occurred. Sina’s family visited the church at times, and he knew some of Sina’s direct relatives. “This is not a religious kind of issue it’s a communal issue,” Mr Taufalele said.
More homes searched in inquiry By Susan Sandys A youth appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering Ashburton mother Sina Solomona. The youth was interviewed by police on Wednesday night and charged with killing the 22-year-old in the early hours of Saturday. At the Youth Court in Christchurch yesterday he was remanded in custody to reappear on January 14 at the Ashburton District Court. The arrest came as momentum gathered in the investigation late on Wednesday as police searched more homes, believed to be related Solomona family member properties, in Ashburton. Police cordoned off a dilapidated house at 45 Aitken Street, and cordoned off its front windows while forensic staff meticulously searched the grounds of neighbouring homes. One neighbouring couple said three forensic staff in protective boiler suits were literally crawling along their fence line through their garden, but did not appear to find anything. Yesterday the Aitken Street house remained cordoned off and was under police watch. At a house on Andrew Street in Allenton, various police vehicles were there throughout late Wednesday and a forensic officer with a bright light could be seen through the front window examin-
Photo Tetsuro Mitomo 201212-TM-002
Murder investigation police guarded an Aitken Street house yesterday after it became the focus of intense forensic searches on Wednesday. ing the interior at night. There was no sign of a police presence at the address yesterday. While both properties are believed to be used by Solomona family members, and the Andrew Street property is believed to be where the family members who resided at Sina’s home address were when she was killed, police have said throughout the inquiry that direct family members were not implicated in the murder. Rather the attacker was likely to
be someone the victim knew or was familiar with. And as the investigation became “subjudice” yesterday, police appeared to reassert this. “Searches at properties connected to the family of the victim have been carried out as a routine part of the investigation, for the sake of completeness,” detective senior sergeant John Rae said. “As the matter is now subjudice police cannot comment on any matters relating to the potential
identification of the accused, nor on the details of the investigation.” Mr Rae said the scene examination at the Cass Street crime scene was ongoing, and would now be expected to continue into today. The home remained cordoned off and the road blocked. Meanwhile, Fairfax reported yesterday text messages sent by Solomona showed she was happy and chatty in the minutes leading up to her death. Mr Rae said her text messages had given police a clearer idea of when the attack was carried out. They were mainly sent after Solomona left a friend’s house, where she had been socialising after finishing work at 1am. The messages were “chatty”. “She was happy and normal, just tired after work,” he said. “We can account for her right up to the time she got to the house.” Sina was attacked after her sister’s partner dropped her home, and she suffered injuries from an unidentified blunt object and a sharp blade, including cuts to her face and throat. She was discovered fatally injured by her step brother at about 2.36am. It is unknown whether Sina’s attacker came to the door after she entered the house alone, or was already in the house. She lived at the house with seven other family members including her three-year-old daughter, but none were home at the time.
Photo Tetsuro Mitomo 201212-TM-069
Devastated - Family members outside the Cass Street house lay more flowers yesterday, watched by a detective.
Today’s weather
HIGH LOW
25
11