The family of homeless man Daniel Bindner, whose body was found in multiple parts in a cardboard bale in Hamilton, say they're desperate to find out how he died.
Body parts were discovered in a packaging plant in Hamilton on Tuesday, sparking an intense police effort to identify the dead man. Early on Thursday police named the dead man as a 40-year-old father-of-three from Te Awamutu.
A source close to the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says Mr Bindner had gone downhill lately, suffering from depression. He may have slipped back into a drug habit which began at the age of 15.
A downturn in the dairy industry meant Mr Bindner was laid off from his job as a farmhand at short notice in early June.
He had another farming job lined up but the employer asked him to take a drug test, which he failed, so he missed out.
Mr Bindner had been working 12-hour days to support his partner and his two children, who lived on the farm near Te Awamutu with him. He also acted as father to a teenager from his partner's previous relationship.
Once he was made redundant the family moved off the farm and the financial pressure broke up the couple's relationship.
Mr Bindner had been living on the streets for about two weeks when he died.
His motorbike had been stolen recently, which devastated him - it was his greatest passion. He couldn't afford to replace it and didn't have insurance.
Mr Bindner's body was found by staff at the Oji Fibre Solutions depot in Frankton, Hamilton, on Tuesday morning. He had been reported missing on Monday.
A post-mortem has been carried out but the results were inconclusive, according to police.
Mr Bindner had a black bag which he took with him everywhere. It's understood he was found without the bag, and police aren't ruling out foul play.
An examination of the scene was completed on Wednesday and police say Oji has cooperated with their investigation.
Oji Fibre Solutions operates Fullcircle trucks, which pick up paper recycling.
Each year Fullcircle picks up 260,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard, mostly from business which pay them to remove it. They drop it off at depots like the one in Pukeko St, Hamilton, where Mr Bindner's body was found.
They are one of the largest players in the market.
Businesses with a lot of recycling material often bale it to make save space and reduce the number of pickups they need to pay for.
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