ARAMOANA, OTAGO. By 8pm on the 13th of November 1990 , Police were informed that there was an active shooting situation in Aramoana . The first to respond to the calls was Sergeant Stewart Guthrie of the Port Chalmers Police Station , who was the only officer on duty that day. As Stewart sped out to Aramoana he came across another officer, he collected Constable Russell Anderson before continuing the journey out to Aramoana. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for more information on this case including s...
Dec 17, 2020•27 min
ARAMOANA, OTAGO. 1990 was a special year for the citizens of New Zealand. It was Aotearoa’s sesquicentenary, NZ’s 150th year and local governments had put on events and activities to celebrate the occasion. By the 13th of November 1990 , the Sesqui celebrations were wrapping up and many of the Aramoana residents were in the nearby town of Port Chalmers enjoying what remained of the Sesqui. Those who remained in the tiny seaside village of Aramoana on the 13th of November were not prepared for wh...
Nov 15, 2020•18 min
ARAMOANA, OTAGO. Located 27km north of Dunedin , tucked away at the mouth of the Otago Harbour in the South Island of New Zealand , you will find the small seaside village of Aramoana . The village which translates to ‘pathway to the sea’ is made up of approximately 260 residents who affectionately refer to it as ‘The Spit’ . The village is truly remote with no street lights, shops, hotels or a police station. A vast array of wildlife also populate the area as Aramoana and its beach provide an i...
Nov 04, 2020•26 min
WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. In the decades subsequent to 1920 , Wanganui did much growing. The town of Wanganui was officially upgraded to a city in 1924 . Many of Wanganui’s most well known monuments were erected during this time, including the Durie Hill War Memorial Tower in 1926 , the Whanganui Regional Museum in 1928 and the famous War Memorial Hall in 1960 . By the early 1980s, the city of Wanganui had grown so much, it was housing a population of almost 40,000 citizens. Making up a handful of th...
Oct 02, 2020•34 min
WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. On the 15th of May 1920, Wanganui citizens were shocked by a crime that involved their elected Mayor. The crime was reported on later in the New Zealand Truth newspaper, “The evidence which was adduced makes the case one of the most sensational in the annals of the New Zealand courts. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a more extraordinary sequence of happenings. Charles Mackay , in his public business life, was a popular and successful man, but there was another and hideou...
Sep 14, 2020•30 min
WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. On the 27th of February 1883 something was found on the beach near the Whanganui river mouth that wasn’t the usual river byproducts. A telegraph linesperson, Arthur Fitchett was working along the beach when he discovered something that would shock and horrify the small township -- the deceased corpse of a four-year-old girl. The story that unfolded became one of the darkest and most complicated crimes in the annals of Whanganui’s short history. This is the tale of the strang...
Aug 17, 2020•27 min
PIHA, AUCKLAND. In 1939 Piha was in the news for something completely unrelated to its beach; it was in the headlines for a house fire claiming the life of one person. As the events unfolded, more information rose to the surface and ultimately the story of the ‘Piha Fire’ of 1939 became one of the most curious crimes in the archives of NZ’s history. This is the tale of Gordon McKay and The Duplicitous Inferno . Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transc...
Jun 05, 2020•18 min
RAURIMU, MANAWATU. Saturday the 8th of February 1997. 9.05am. Stephen Anderson walks into the kitchen holding a 12 gauge sawn-off shotgun and carrying a shotgun cartridge in his mouth. His father Neville immediately sprang from his seat and approached the gunman “What are you doing… Give it to me Stephen” . Neville grabbed hold of the barrel of the shotgun , attempting to wrestle it out of his son’s hands when Stephen accused his father of being wicked, “ You're the devil incarnate." BANG! The s...
May 11, 2020•42 min
In early 1916 , the 4th Battalion of the NZ Rifle Brigade took part in a parade down Queen Street, Auckland before they embarked overseas to Egypt to fight in World War I . ‘A’ company marched down the street waving to the cheering crowd, they were joined by their mascot, an American bulldog called Caesar . Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, with supporting pictures, sources, and credits....
May 04, 2020•17 min
LOWER HUTT. WELLINGTON. Saturday. 13th of April 2002. 11.20am. Donna Hall gathered her two nieces, Manumea and Erena Durie to take a morning stroll along the Hutt River with ‘baby Kahu’ and the family dog. The fivesome left their house and wandered through the suburbs of Woburn . The two nieces pushed Kahu in the pushchair a few metres ahead of Donna who walked the dog behind. Eventually the quintet walked southwest onto Saint Albans Grove . As they made their way down the road towards the river...
Apr 18, 2020•29 min
In 1915, the area between Featherston and the Tauherenikau River was acquired by the Ministry of Defence. The area was chosen as the site to train the New Zealand soldiers heading to Europe to serve in World War I. Development began on the site with over 1,000 workmen constructing what would become NZ’s largest military training camp; Featherston Military Camp. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, with supporting pictures, sou...
Mar 29, 2020•21 min
PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU. Four months into his sentence, in August of 2002 , Mark Lundy took his case to the Court of Appeal based on the belief that he was convicted on “bad science” . Upon upholding the conviction, the Court added an additional three years to Mark’s non-parole period; bringing the total non-parole term to 20 years . The reason for the increase was due to the Court of Appeal believing the original trial judge was too lenient and didn’t fully take into account the horrific cir...
Mar 08, 2020•32 min
PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU. 30th of August 2000. 11.59am . Mark Lundy took a call from a client who wanted to place an order; Mark emotionally communicated through tears that he couldn’t right now as he was on his way home becaus e “something happened to his wife and child”. Mark arrived home to ‘Palmy’ about an hour and 16 minutes later at 1.15pm , police stopped Mark Lundy at the cordon about a block from 30 Karamea Crescent -- they had something to tell him. Police broke the news that both hi...
Feb 18, 2020•30 min
PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU. 30th of August 2000. 9.30am. Christine’s brother James Weggery arrived at 30 Karamea Crescent in the suburb of Kelvin Grove in Palmerston North . James knew Christine’s routine well, he knew she would be home after taking her 7-year-old daughter Amber to school. Although, James had been having difficulty getting Christine on the phone; he decided to just head over to her house. Christine had been working on the accounting for James’ trucking business and his taxes wer...
Feb 01, 2020•18 min
REPOROA. WAIKATO. 30th of November 1998. Highschool sweethearts and husband and wife, Henk and Beverly Bouma are alone in their farmhouse property located on Plateau Road in Reporoa , a small rural community 40km outside of Rotorua . The couple's three children were not home, their son 22-year-old Russell was working on another farm; their two daughters, 17-year-old Sandra and 15-year-old Cherie were away for school in Hamilton . Henk and Beverly Bouma are awoken to four men wearing ski masks an...
Jan 16, 2020•24 min
On the 17th of December 1642. Abel and his crew saw land in the far distance; it was Te Tai Poutini -- the west coast of the South Island of NZ. As the Dutch mariner approached the unknown land, he saw a succession of fires burning upon the coastline. The days that followed saw the first meeting of European and Maori people. It was not a peaceful encounter....
Dec 31, 2019•20 min
DUNEDIN. OTAGO. The day after stabbing 22 year old Sophie Elliott to death, the 10th of January 2008 , Clayton Weatherston appeared in court in Dunedin -- he pled not guilty to the charge of murder. This began long and lengthy court proceedings. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, with supporting pictures, sources, and credits. If you are a victim of family violence or in a relationship that makes you fearful about your own o...
Dec 16, 2019•45 min
EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on new equipment and we did not get an ideal recording. We learnt a lot of lessons though. We hope the quality isn't too distracting from the information for all you audiophiles out there. Much love, TCNZ. DUNEDIN. OTAGO. “I then heard the door being unlocked so I opened it and stepped into a small bedroom. In front of me, to my left, was the body of a young Caucasian female on the floor. She was covered in blood around her neck and upper torso . A male w...
Nov 27, 2019•31 min
AUCKLAND CITY. AUCKLAND. 19th of October 1996 . 9.40am. Sister Janet Swindle , a nun, was walking her dog along Karangahape Road . Sister Swindle and her canine companion entered Pigeon Park , an area of the Symonds Street Cemetery . Among the many corpses laid peacefully to rest, to her horror, Sister Swindle discovered one unpeaceful and unburied; the mutilated corpse of Natacha Hogan. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, wi...
Nov 13, 2019•43 min
Tēnā koutou friends, Jessica here, with a quick update on some new things happening around our way. With the completion of the Rainbow Warrior story, that was our 12th case and 21st episode. Which was kind of like a season for us. We have a couple of announcements to make regarding the future of True Crime NZ. Please follow our social media pages to keep updated about any updates. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrueCrimeNewZealand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimenewzealand/ Twi...
Nov 02, 2019•4 min
AUCKLAND CITY. AUCKLAND. French Defence Minister Charles Hernu caught wind of Greenpeace’s plan to protest upcoming French tests in late 1984 . After reportedly ‘exploding with fury’ , Hernu ordered the French security service, the General Directorate for External Security or in French, Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE) to investigate the rumours. To ensure the security of France, discussions surrounding ‘neutralising’ the Greenpeace mission commenced. Ideas in the form of repo...
Oct 27, 2019•37 min
AUCKLAND CITY, AUCKLAND. In April 1985, Fernando Pereira said goodbye to his children in the Netherlands , his departing words were, “Just take care of your mom, I’ll do my trip and I’ll be home soon”. With goodbyes said to his loved ones, Fernando travelled to Hawaii and reported for duty. Fernando boarded the ship that would be his home for the next six months as he travelled around the globe - the Rainbow Warrior. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for information on how to vote for the next episode o...
Oct 19, 2019•35 min
In 1856, on the lower slopes of Mt Eden - a wooden stockade was built to house the overflowing at the Queen Street Goal . Sixteen of the most troublesome prisoners were transferred to the stockade in September 1856 . Three of these men were serving a life sentence, one for stabbing a ship captain in the Bay of Islands , one for rape in the Auckland suburb of Newmarket , and one for killing a Maori with a piece of wood in Chancery Lane, a street in Auckland. In 1865, completion of a new building ...
Oct 13, 2019•25 min
PUKEKAWA. WAIKATO. On the 2nd of March 1971, Arthur Allan Thomas , having been found guilty of double murder, was driven from the Auckland District Court , 30km north, over the Auckland Harbour Bridge . Exiting at Albany, the police van eventually got onto Paremoremo Road . The ‘paddy wagon’ drove another 5km before taking a left, soon after the van pulled over. When Arthur exited the vehicle he was greeted by, what would be his home for the foreseeable future, Paremoremo Maximum Security Prison...
Oct 05, 2019•41 min
PUKEKAWA. WAIKATO. 22nd of June 1970. 2.20pm. Tuakau police constable Gerald Wyllie answered a call from Owen Priest. Owen explained that Harvey and Jeannette Crewe , farmers in Pukekawa were missing. There were bloodstains in the kitchen and lounge. Furthermore, Rochelle; the Crewe’s 18 month old daughter was found to be without her parents in the house for five days. Although, most peculiar, it appeared Rochelle had been fed and looked after for those five days. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for a...
Sep 23, 2019•38 min
PUKEKAWA. WAIKATO. Pukekawa is a small district in the Waikato, approx. 66km from central Auckland . In the early years of NZ, Pukekawa was used as a battleground for the early NZ wars. By the early 1900s, Pukekawa was known as a ‘rural Pakeha settlement’ . The area was known to have fertile soil; over time it became a popular farming spot. By 1970, Pukekawa was a small, albeit affluent farming community. On the 22 June 1970, the small community of Pukekawa was shattered by one of New Zealand’s ...
Sep 15, 2019•25 min
PALMERSTON NORTH, MANAWATU. On the 25 August 1996, a letter came across the desk of Detective Constable Brent Garner. Brent opened the letter and began reading, “COP, you drew the straw. Chapter 1 starts. You will die, I guarantee. The Executioner.” Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, with supporting pictures, sources, and credits....
Sep 03, 2019•34 min
When we stummbled upon the alarming high number of victims of sexual abuse by the time of adulthood - True Crime NZ decided to look into this subject matter a little closer. Opening a dialogue into taboo topics is never easy, but we must examine our own reluctance and courageously wade into this unconscious quagmire if we’re going to help. This episode will be slightly different from our usual content. Instead of investigating a case, we will be investigating a subject, a difficult topic to disc...
Aug 25, 2019•23 min
Here we are, 13 episodes in. Since launch of True Crime NZ June 17th 2019 , it has been a rollercoaster of an emotion so far, lots of highs and excitement; as well as having some really tough days - as is life. As the podcast has grown and evolved since the last time we did this. For anyone unaware, TCNZ is comprised of two people; my husband, Sirius ; and me, Jessica . The podcast is independently produced, funded by passion for journalism and storytelling. The podcast is recorded in an emptied...
Aug 23, 2019•4 min
WELLINGTON CITY, WELLINGTON. 24th of September 1905, 7.45pm. The now 68 year old Joe Kum Young, still recovering from his mining injury, was limping down Haining Street. Footsteps quickly approached him from behind. Young may have sensed a wisp of dread when he heard a revolver being cocked from the same direction. A loud gunshot quickly followed, followed by a quicker bullet. Joe Kum Young was shot in the back of the head. He fought his injuries in hospital for the next two hours, but later die...
Aug 18, 2019•28 min
