A family friend of Ross Bremner, who is wanted in connection with a double knife attack on his parents in Otorohanga, is pleading for him to turn himself in.
Flowers have been placed outside Clare and Keith Bremner's house in Otoroahnga, where their son Ross was also living. Photo: RNZ / Alex Aston
Ross Bremner. Photo: NZ Police
Police and the Armed Offenders Squad have been searching for the 34-year-old since Tuesday night, when his mother Clare was fatally stabbed and his father Keith critically injured.
Members of the public have been urged to alert the police if they see a 2003 Holden Vectra with the registration number BGP561.
Family friend Geoff Benefield told Checkpoint with John Campbell Mr Bremner had been a "great kid" but was affected by drug-related illness.
Yesterday, a Waikato District Health Board spokesperson said Mr Bremner had been a mental health patient, and was last in in-patient care in 2013.
Mr Benefield said Mr Bremner should give him a call or turn himself in.
"We are here to help you, your family loves you, we all love you, we want you back and we can get through this."
"We are here to help you, your family loves you" - Geoff Benefield
He said he thought because of Mr Bremner's state of mind that his car would be his sanctuary.
Mr Bremner had been living at home with his parents and was unemployed but had been doing odd jobs like milking cows, Mr Benefield said.
His father, Keith, was in an induced coma after having a major operation on his face and neck area, and had also suffered a minor stroke, but doctors had said that he had "more than a 90 percent chance of living", Mr Benefield said.