Real Life

Bound and gagged woman dies after jumping from car in Auckland

The woman jumped from a car in South Auckland on Tuesday evening.
Huia road incident, Auckland

The kidnapped Thai woman who escaped from a moving car boot, bound and gagged, has died, Middlemore Hospital confirmed.

The 50-year-old woman died from injuries sustained during the incident in South Auckland, passing away just after 11PM on Wednesday.

Police have identified the woman and are now trying to determine what happened to her in the run up to her leaping from a car boot into the street on Tuesday night.

She was found bleeding and unresponsive on Huia Rd, Papatoetoe, at around 7PM Tuesday, after locals in the area witnessed her jumping out of the boot of a car.

The Herald reports that detectives are looking at organised crime groups, including Asian gangs, as a possible link in the case. They also report that the woman had connections to the criminal underworld.

Police expect to release the woman’s name this morning, once a post-mortem has been carried out on the body.

A police statement read: “We are keeping an open mind as to the motivation behind her kidnapping however an obvious line of inquiry will involve links to organised crime.”

Local resident Jay Shah was putting his bins out on Tuesday when he noticed what was happening:

“I was getting the rubbish bins back into the house and I saw someone jump out of the boot of the car,” Mr Shah said.

“When I saw the body fall out of the boot, I ran towards the body to make sure everything was all right. I thought she was about to die.

“She had a metal rod next to her … so I think she used the metal rod to jack open the boot and then jump out.

Aucklanders were tweeting about the incident last night

“Her legs were tied and her hands were tied up and she was strangled around the neck with cloth strips.”

Police are appealing for anyone who might have information on the victim or the incident, and have released a photo of the victim’s dolphin tattoo to assist the investigation.

Counties Manukau Crime Manager Detective Inspector Dave Lynch said:

“We want to assure the public we are doing everything we can to locate the person or persons involved in this crime. However, we still need members of the public who saw anything they think may be relevant to contact us.

“We are still making enquiries to identify the car used in the incident and at this stage believe it was a late model silver sedan. If anyone saw a vehicle fitting this description in the surrounding area acting suspiciously then we ask them to contact Police.

“We encourage the community of Papatoetoe to continue going about their business. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest there is any risk to members of the public.”

If anyone has information they can call the team on 0508 422 443, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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