The murder of Harvey and Jeannette Crewe in their Pukekawa farmhouse in 1970 remains New Zealand' s most infamous cold case. It spawned two trials, two appeals, several books, a film, and eventually a royal commission finding of police corruption.It also resulted in a free pardon, the only time the New Zealand government has bypassed the courts to set a convicted murderer free. And still, the Crewes' killer has not been found.Combining gripping narrative, detailed research and striking new testimony from those who were there, this book tells the complete story of the case for the first time.
Wrongly convicted of double murder in New Zealand's most baffling homicide inquiry, Arthur Allan Thomas spent nine years in prison before his convictions were finally quashed. Now, he's decided to finally reveal the full details of what happened to him inside, and outside, of jail. Award-winning investigative journalist Ian Wishart has hunted down significant new leads, and for the first time Arthur Allan Thomas describes his arrest, his time behind bars, and his life since his release. An incredible, never-before-told story.
On 17th June, 1970, in a small farming district, south of Auckland, New Zealand, Harvey and Jeanette Crewe were shot and killed in the lounge of their home. Five months later, a neighbour, Arthur Allan Thomas, was arrested, charged and found guilty of their murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. A retrial in 1972 ended with another guilty verdict. David Yallop, author of To Encourage the Others and The Day the Laughter Stopped, two already celebrated books which dealt with miscarriages of justice, spent over a year in New Zealand investigating the case and became convinced of Thomas' innocence. in an open letter to New Zealand's Prime Minister, he demanded Thomas' release on the grounds that he 'has not been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt. He has in fact been found innocent beyond reasonable doubt.' In 1978, as a direct result of Yallop's intercession and the publication of this book, Thomas was granted a royal pardon and, in 1980, awarded nearly 1 million dollars in compensation for the nine years he had served behind bards. Beyond Reasonable Doubt? is both a riveting work of high drama and a compelling insight into the machinery of criminal justice. A Number One bestseller in hgardcover and the subject of a widely-acclaimed film, it is a lasting testimony to David Yallop's reputation as the world's greatest investigative author.
R v Watson is the legal description of perhaps New Zealand s most infamous murder case: a prosecution involving a 5 month police inquiry in1998, a three month trial in 1999, and an Appeal against Conviction in 2000, all involving the blatant deceiving of the public by high-ranking police and legal officials.
Meet Meda. She eats people. Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up. They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by Crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her “kind” is. Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.
Some of the gruesome cases in this book are better known than others, such as the inexplicable shooting of his wife and two daughters by Lock Ah Tam in 1926 and the Gorse Hall murder in 1909, which still excites afictionados of true crime and those who like a good unsolved mystery. Others are less well known, including the mysterious murder of Mary Malpas in 1835 and the crime of Frederick George Wood in Bramhall in 1922, a classic example of the pointless murder, for little or no reward, while few outside the town have ever heard the tale of the 'Congleton Cannibal.' All manner of murder and mystery is featured here, and this book is sure to be a must-read for true crime enthusiasts everywhere.
