This statement can be attributed to Detective Maree Stevenson.
Hamilton Police are appealing for help to identify the man responsible for the assault of a 61-year-old woman on Tuesday 28 February.
The woman was asleep on the couch at a residence in Dinsdale at around 2.45pm that afternoon and woke up to discover an unknown man in the house.
The man punched her twice in the face before leaving the property with the woman’s handbag.
The man is described as Maori, chubby, and aged in his early 20s. He has black, scruffy hair (collar length at the back) and he had a distinctive tattoo of a Celtic cross on his neck. The cross is described as being silver in colour and filled in, with an outline of a decorative design around the edges. He was wearing a plain grey marl t-shirt.
It is believed that the man entered the house through an unlocked door. It is not known what direction he headed in when he left the property.
If you have any information which could help police identify this man, please contact Hamilton Police on 07 858 6200. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre