This is Liberty Rose Templeman.She is fifteen and had recently had the star role in her local high school's drama production.
Two years ago she and her parents and brother moved to New Zealand from England and settled in the small Northland tourist town of Kerikeri.
Now, Kerikeri is a beautiful little town - and home to some of New Zealand's most historic buildings (remember New Zealand is a very young country) and it has a population of around the six thousand mark.A few months ago the Templeman family moved to Auckland where her father is a property valuer and yesterday Liberty was to start at her new school, Rangitoto High School.
Except she didn't - because she was murdered in the weekend.
She had travelled up to Kerikeri to spend the weekend with friends and was last seen about
7pm on Saturday when a friend left her outside Kerikeri High School.
She is believed to have been going to walk across the school grounds and the Kerikeri Domain to meet her boyfriend at the nearby New World supermarket, where he worked.
But she did not arrive and police discovered her body on Sunday evening lying face down in a local stream.
Police have not released details of how she died, but given that someone reported hearing screams coming from the area she was believed to have been, chances are her death was horrific and it will haunt her family, friends and the local Kerikeri community for the rest of their lives.
There hasn't been a murder in Kerikeri for twenty years.
Last night I was watching the late news and the newsreader asked the reporter in the field, 'So can you tell me, what is the mood of the town tonight?'
Excuse me, but did you really say what I thought you said?
Let me see, how many ways can I answer this, 'Well, Greg, on one hand they are having on a bit of a downer because it appears an innocent popular girl was slaughtered, but on the upside there was a third division Lotto ticket sold at the local dairy so, you know, swings and roundabouts.'
Greg, the murder of an innocent teenager just occurred in tiny wee tourist town, whaddaya think the mood will be like?
THEY WILL BE BRICKING IT. And feeling sick, I should imagine.
It's the equivalent of asking these poor girl's parents, 'How are you feeling?'
Shudder, shudder, shudder.
'And tonight on State the Bleeding Obvious at Ten, we will ask questions that you already know the answer of and we also have an uncanny gift making you squirm...'
I generally always watch the competition's news and last night's broadcast just reaffirmed my viewing preference.
2 comments:
Those talking heads are like the walking dead.
Disgusting, Kate.
Like the poor girl's family needs to hear that.
Not a lot provokes a vocal protest from me (my multiple personalties tend to whisper quietly between themselves), but that had me yelling at the television. And there wasn't another soul in the house.
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