Police have made a breakthrough in the 2018 homicide case of Eddie Peters, who was found violently beaten on a family member's driveway and died eight days later. 

CCTV footage has led police to believe that three young gang members allegedly were responsible for his death. Yet, after four years of stonewalling, no one has been held accountable for his death. 

Peters, 45, was found collapsed and bleeding on the driveway of a family member’s home on Diaz Drive, Flaxmere, just after midnight on November 16 2018.

A neighbour heard Peters' moans and phoned emergency services after finding him in a "pool of blood".

Eight days after he was assaulted, Peters died in Wellington Hospital of complications from blunt-force trauma to his head

In a bid to seek new information, police revisited details of the homicide, not previously released to the public, on last night's episode of Cold Case on TV1. 

While it hadn’t been immediately apparent, Detective Sergeant Craig Vining said the death of another man - a senior member of the Hastings chapter of the Mongrel Mob - "turned out to have quite a significant bearing on what we now know happened to Eddie on that night”.

On the afternoon of November 15, that man died of natural causes at a property on Diaz Drive. His death triggered an "impromptu tangi" with about 40-50 patched gang members in attendance. 

Peters was not a member of any gang but was a close friend of the dead man, having known him since school.

He went to the tangi and had a few drinks. However, there are varying reports on how intoxicated he became and a suggestion he may have had some sort of altercation with gang members.

This led Peters to leave the tangi at about 9.30pm.

"He walked to a friend's house not too far away from where the tangi was occurring and had a conversation with the occupant there. He knew by that point that he was in a bit of trouble," Vinning, who is second-in-charge of the investigation, said.

Peters told the woman he was going to get a hiding and might end up in hospital, but she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Peters then walked back to the tangi.

There were no problems related to the tangi reported to police.

CCTV footage showed Eddie Peters arriving at the tangi. Photo/Supplied.

But shortly before midnight, two residents of Diaz Drive noticed people running across the front of their property. Then they heard people whispering on a driveway next door to them. They also heard the sound of a male groaning and of a dog growling. 

One of the men was aged in his 20s wearing a black patch and the other two were wearing red patches. Two of the males (including the man in the black patch) are thought to be aged in their 20s and the third male in his late teens with his red patch appearing to be “oversized” or ill-fitting on him. “Crucially, all three are thought to be from the Hastings chapter of the Mongrel Mob.”

Three days after the assault Peters’ condition improved slightly and he was able to make a very brief statement to police.

He said: “It might have been my fault. I could have been lippy. It probably was me". 

He acknowledged being very drunk and said “nobody will say anything”.

"I also think it's likely that in that week he did tell others about who was involved," Vining said. 

Fears of gang reprisals made witnesses reluctant to give statements during the initial investigation.

“There were just a lot of doors getting shut in our face. Wherever their loyalties or allegiances lie, a man has died.

"We need everyone to realise that this isn’t going to go away. The police are going to keep pushing this until we get where we need to be.”

However, police want to give the community safe options to talk to police.

“This was a serious assault which led to a man’s death. Eddie’s whānau continue to grieve for their loved father and friend. We’re hoping new details and fresh information will help us get the answers they need.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call 0800 Cold Case: 0800 2653 2273.

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