John Nabizadah with a picture of his father Abdulhassan Nabizadah. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The family of a man who died in the Wellington suburb of Miramar are relieved to hear of progress on the case, as police reveal they have found a link between the homicide and a nearby aggravated burglary.
Abdulhassan Nabizadah, 63, was found critically injured on a street corner at about 2am on 17 March, minutes after police were called to a home just blocks away on Darlington Road, whose occupants had found an intruder in their home.
Nabizadah died in hospital the next day.
A 28-year-old man was later arrested and charged with aggravated burglary in relation to the Darlington Road incident, and appeared in court on 27 March.
Then, on Thursday evening, police revealed they now believed there to be a link between the two cases, and they had confirmed why Nabizadah was in the area that night.
Nabizadah's son John told RNZ the family did not know what link the police had found, or why their father was there - but news of progress from the police was a positive step.
"It is a little bit of a relief," he said.
"We know they're in the right place, they're doing the best they can."
Detective inspector Nick Pritchard said a large police team had been working on parallel investigations into both incidents.
"We also believe [Nabizadah] was the victim of a robbery," Pritchard said.
Police were still seeking information from the public which could help identify a pedestrian walking from Camperdown Road into Darlington Road at 12.28am.
The person was wearing a light top and dark pants, and police said they could have crucial information.
They were also still seeking the driver of a 2006 silver or grey Mazda 6 seen driving through the Darlington Road/Camperdown Road intersection several times between 11.50pm on Sunday 16 March, and 2.17am on 17 March.
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