A small Pacific island is in shock after an escaped prisoner reportedly murdered two people and then killed himself after a stand-off with police.
The island of Rarotonga went into lockdown yesterday when convicted sex offender Chris Rimamotu, 41, fled while he was carrying out community service, with police advising residents to stay indoors.
As officers launched an island-wide manhunt, Rimamotu is believed to have strangled his ex-girlfriend and shot her new boyfriend up to 20 times in what a neighbour described as an "execution style" killing. Witnesses named the deceased as Mary Dean and Roger Tauarea.
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The neighbour said Tauarea ran into his garden to try and escape, but Rimamotu caught up with him. "[Rimamotu] walked very calmly, he looked very cool and collected," he told AFP.
The fugitive then retreated into an abandoned house. According to Cook Islands News, police surrounded the property and were engaged in negotiations for a "couple of hours" before Rimamotu "is believed to have shot himself dead".
Officers have not officially confirmed his death, with a spokesman saying: "The situation with Chris Rimamotu has been contained. It is now safe for the community in regards to this matter. This is still a live investigation so there will not be any release of information until the investigation is complete."
The body of Dean will be transported to New Zealand for her family to pay their last respects, reports the New Zealand Herald.
Rimamotu was serving a seven-year sentence for the abduction and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl in 2014.
