’Ray of sunshine’ found dead

A 28-year-old woman found dead in the early hours of Saturday morning has been described as a "ray of sunshine".

Hamilton mum Jynelle Northover died in a house on Aurora Tce in the suburb of Hillcrest, in circumstances police regard as suspicious.

Jynelle was a qualified embalmer and funeral director, said the owner of Simplicity Bereavement Services – where Northover worked until six months ago.

"Jynelle was a total ray of sunshine and still popped in regularly," she says.

"It's just tragic that she's been taken away too soon."

The owner of Simplicity Bereavement Services says she found out about the death on Saturday morning but that she didn't know any details.

She says Jynelle had a young daughter and a "community-spirited family" living in Hamilton.

Jynelle had attended Hamilton's Fraser High School and a former classmate remembered her as an "outgoing, very outspoken girl who knew how to bring the best out in people".

The friend said she and others from the school heard news of Jynelle's death together.

"It's a big thing to get our heads around.

"We can't believe it's happened happened actually; just a huge shock and it's still sinking in."

Jynelle could be a clown at school, she said, and would often make her classmates laugh.

"Every morning Jynelle would come into the class – it'd be early and we would not be in a good mood – and she'd just yell out 'good morning!' really loudly.

"She'd just make us laugh out loud and improve our day. She could really make anything funny."

The friend says Jynelle had been a high achiever at school and aimed "for nothing but perfection".

"My condolences go out to her family."

Jynelle's uncle, Paul Northover​, says the family were awaiting results of the autopsy "for some sort of understanding as to what may have happened" on the night she died.

He says the family preferred not to speak further until after then.

Emergency services were called to Aurora Tce around 2am on Saturday, and neighbours woke up to police on their street.

Dominic Appleton, who lived near the house where Jynelle died, says police had been knocking on doors to ask if neighbours had heard screams around 2am.

"We didn't hear anything.

"But, if we did, there's screaming in this area anyway because it's a party neighbourhood."

Chantal Hashimoto, who lived with Appleton, says she had seen police officers speaking to a man at the house on Friday morning.

The man left in his own vehicle, she says.

- Stuff/ AMANDA SAXTON

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