Thursday, 14 March 2019 - 9:14am |
Bay of Plenty

Can you help in Police Ten 7 case?

2 min read

Please attribute to Detective Sergeant Paul Barron, Tauranga CIB:

Tonight on Police Ten 7 new information will be released in relation to the death of David Kuka who was killed at his Tauranga home in February 2018.

Mr Kuka, 52, was home alone at the Wilrose Place address on February 11 last year.

He was found seriously injured at around 10:25pm and died at the scene shortly after emergency services arrived. Sadly Mr Kuka was shot execution style in what Police believe was a premediated and cowardly attack.

Early indications to Police were that his murder was a case of mistaken identity.

We believe his murder is most likely connected to the death of Mongrel Mob Notorious life member Lance Waite who was shot at the same location five weeks prior to Mr Kuka's death and later died from his injuries.

Police are aware that Mr Kuka was previously gang affiliated but that was many years ago.

At the time of his death Mr Kuka was a devout Christian and mainly kept to himself. He was a family man and looked out for his whanāu and friends. He was also a talented carver and craftsman and examples of his work are displayed in Tauranga.

Police had previously sought information about a silver sedan that was seen in the Greerton area and seen coming and going from Welcome Bay on the night of February 11. Anyone with information about this vehicle is still encouraged to contact Police.

Police now need the public's help in identifying a new piece of information in relation to Mr Kuka's death.

To find out what this new information is tune into the first Police Ten 7 episode of the year at 7:30pm tonight on TVNZ 2.

Police Ten 7 can also be watched on TVNZ 2 +1 an hour later.

The new information in relation to Mr Kuka's death will also be shared on the Police Ten 7 and Bay of Plenty Police District Facebook pages once the programme has screened.

We believe that the community can help us get answers for Mr Kuka's family. Someone will know something and can help us bring his family some sense of closure in solving this crime.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Paul Barron on 07 577 4384 or call the Police Ten 7 Information line on 0800 107 4636.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre.

Media note: There will be a media release issued towards the end of the episode with more detailed information.