Transvestite murder accused identified

Two men accused of murdering an Upper Hutt transvestite known as Diksy can be named after a judge rejected a plea for name suppression.

Richard Milton Jones, 64, was found by police at his Totara Park Rd unit last Wednesday afternoon with severe injuries and could not be resuscitated by emergency services.

Phillip Christopher Sanders, 41, and David Shaun Galloway, 18, have been charged with murder.

Galloway was refused bail by Judge Pat Grace yesterday after he made an application in Upper Hutt District Court. A further application for name suppression was also refused. Both men are due back in court on May 12.

Verity Jones, 23, who attended her father's funeral in Wellington this week, said: "He was a gentle person who lived a really peaceful life. That's why the way he died . . . it's devastating."

He was a cabinet maker and she recalled his "unique" creations, his love of old cars, cricket and cats.

But he was better known around Upper Hutt as Diksy. A close friend, Myrie Beck, called him a "beautiful person", with a great sense of humour. "Everybody who knew Diksy loved her. There was name-calling and, whenever she got on a bus, people would look and look again. But she wasn't bothered by that."

- The Dominion Post