Police say they are following several strong leads and are making good progress in the search for the murderer of retired farmer Dave Davan.
But Dave’s son Conrad Davan says with a killer on the loose his family is living in fear, describing his father’s murder as crafty, cowardly and gutless.
Conrad has made a renewed appeal for information leading towards a conviction in a case that has gripped the tiny community of Herekino, on the west coast of the Far North.
His 67-year-old father was gifted two bottles of his favourite wine in November 2021 which were left in his letterbox, something that was not entirely unusual.
"They had an active barter system. Dad would leave eggs for people, and in return they would supply him with fish or his favourite drink," Conrad told Sunday.
Although the well-known man consumed the first bottle without any issue, he noticed the seal on the second bottle had been broken but "he didn't think much of it".
While drinking a glass from the second bottle "he noticed something was wrong".
"He noticed a slight, slight difference in the taste. Then he noticed some symptoms - strange symptoms."
Conrad agreed to take the Sunday team back to his dad’s house, a place he dreads going as it is where his father suffered so much the night he drank the poisoned wine.
He is anxious and pauses to gather his thoughts as he details how his father spent the night on the kitchen floor vomiting and with severe diarrhoea, only managing to raise the alarm the following morning by calling Conrad, police and a doctor about his suspicion he’d been poisoned.
Dave was admitted to Kaitaia Hospital but his condition deteriorated so he was transferred to Whangārei, where his lungs and kidneys began shutting down.
He was airlifted to Auckland Hospital, but died 26 days after drinking the poisoned wine.
Police say the poison was a weedkiller called paraquat.
Toxicologist Dr Belinda Cridge says it is a restricted chemical, users need to be authorised and "to kill an adult you'd need about a tablespoon, so it’s about 20ml for a fully-grown adult".
There is no treatment for paraquat once it has entered the body.
"It’ll go up to the brain, it’ll go through into your lungs, into your liver, into your kidneys. It’s a horrible way to die," Cridge said.
At his father’s farmhouse, Conrad revealed for the first time how his father split the samples of poisoned wine into a preserving jar, hiding the jar and the bottles in different parts of the house.
"He doesn't want one to go missing. He’s worried that someone would come and get rid of the evidence. He’s trying to solve his own murder."
Conrad says the uncertainty has led to plenty of rumours and speculation in the community but said, "I need a conviction for dad".
"That was one of the things he said to me. He just said don’t let them get away with it. And I’m not gonna let them get away with it."
There is a reward for being offered by a group of Dave's friends and family.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to call the 105 phone service, go online, or call anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111
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