A man who died at an Auckland tennis club was a gentle, quiet scientist who was killed on his daily walk to search for insects and plants. The victim of the suspected stabbing was aged in his early 50s and was a keen entomologist who worked in an office underneath the Blockhouse Bay Tennis Club seven days a week. Gary Andrew, from the Whau River Catchment Trust, said he sat next to the man - whom the Herald has chosen not to name - every day at work.
Andrew said the victim left the trust's office yesterday morning around 11.30am for his daily exploration of the neighbourhood. "Someone attacked him, and at this stage we don't know why," he told the Herald.
"We have no idea. I just assume that it was with a knife because he died fairly quickly. He went back inside [the tennis club] and there was lots of blood, and he's died there.
" The victim was single with no children and his only known family was an elderly father in Queensland, Australia. Andrew described him as eccentric, with a dishevelled appearance which led some to assume he lived on the street. In the last few years, he had told colleagues he suspected he was on the autism spectrum.
"He was a small, slightly built, well-spoken, educated, gentle guy who would just never hurt a fly. It just felt incredibly sad that something has happened like this. It's so pointless.
" The victim was based in the trust's office but was not employed by them. He was previously at the University of Auckland and then did contract work for La.