While rumours circulate about the role of an unnamed wealthy gay businessman in the mysterious death of 24-year-old gay actor, model and fashion designer Konrad Kahuroa, police say nothing formal has been put to them. Kahuroa had recently moved to Auckland from Wellington. He died after jumping from a motorway overbridge just over three weeks ago, but friends, colleagues and family believe he was in fear for his life. Kahuroa's mother, Tangiwai Tahi, lives in Dunedin. She told the Sunday Star-Times she found notes written by her son that suggested he had been sexually attacked. She also believed the attack had been videotaped. Mrs Tahi says she received a phone call from her son two days before he died. "Konrad said he was in really big trouble. I asked him what, and he just said 'mum, if anything happens to me, you should remember this conversation'," she says. "He said 'they're after me, they're out to kill me, I have to get out of Auckland'." Police say anyone with information should come forward, but at present they have nothing more than a witness to the death. "If we had a complainant who had come to us with issues surrounding his safety, then that would be an entirely different matter, but we don't have that," says spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 20th December 2005 - 12:00pm