Crimes NZ

A suitcase was found floating in the Waitematā Harbour in 1966. Its contents kicked off an international manhunt and one of Aotearoa's biggest fraudsters. Joseph Sheehan BEM was a detective on the case.

In 1966, the captain of the Salvation Army barge was heading up the Waitematā Harbour when he spotted a mysterious suitcase floating in the water.

He fished it out and discovered documents from the cosmetics company Leidrum and Hartnell.

A company which turned out to be a sham. The man behind it, Robert Gardner, had already left the country. Sending Joseph Sheehan, a detective sergeant at the time, on an international man.

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Michael Blowers was a police officer, family man and pillar of the community. He was also stealing drugs from the police exhibit room and giving them to his mistress to sell. RNZ's Charlie Dreaver describes Blowers downfall.

In 2014, former police detective Michael Blowers was sent to prison for five years on a raft of drug-related offences.

For years he had been stealing drugs from the Whangarei police exhibits room and giving them to his mistress to sell.

RNZ reporter Charlie Dreaver was in the courtroom for his trial and describes how his downfall shocked the Northland community.

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True crime writer Scott Bainbridge takes us through the unsolved murder of pharmacist Arthur Blomfield, who was bludgeoned to death in his Auckland store, Mackay's Dispensary, in 1931.

In 1931, just before closing time, pharmacist Arthur Blomfield was bludgeoned to death at the back of Mackay's dispensary on Wellesley Street in central Auckland.

His killer has never been found.

True crime author Scott Bainbridge talks us through the details of this case and shares who the prime suspect might be.

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Alan Hall spent nearly two decades in jail for the 1985 murder of Arthur Easton. In 2022 his convictions were quashed. Stuff journalist Mike White explains the flaws in the case against Hall and Geoff Hall talks about his brother's life after prison.

In 1985, Arthur Easton was murdered by a bayonet wielding intruder, in his Papakura home.

His two sons were also injured trying to fight off the attacker.

In 1986, Alan Hall was convicted of the crime and spent 19 years in jail. But he has always protested his innocence and 37 years after Easton's death, Hall's convictions were quashed.

Stuff senior investigative reporter Mike White and Alan's brother Geoff share details of the case and Hall's fight for justice.

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Stuff's senior crime reporter tells Jesse Mulligan about his ongoing hunt for one of Aotearoa's most prolific conmen.

For two decades Wayne Eaglesome has committed hundreds of crimes across the country.

He has used 40 different aliases and has been convicted of 250 offences, for both fraud and sexual crimes.

Stuff senior crime reporter Sam Sherwood came across Eaglesome several years ago and has followed his nefarious career both in Aotearoa and now, across the world.

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In this episode we hear about one of our country's most sensational trials - that of headhunters gang member Pedro Cleven.

Through the late 90s and into the early 2000s police ran operation Mexico in a strike a blow at the Headhunters gang.

They nabbed Peter 'Pedro' Cleven on cannabis and methamphetamine charges and what followed as a trial like no other.

Patrick Gower talks to Jesse Mulligan about covering the sensational trial of headhunters gang member Pedro Cleven.

Journalist Patrick Gower was just a cadet reporter for the New Zealand Herald back then and recalls sitting through the unforgettable court case.

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It was a case that shocked the world. A 3-year-old abandoned in an Australian train station, her mother murdered in New Zealand and her father on the run in America.

In September 2007 a three-year-old girl was found abandoned at Melbourne's Southern Cross railway station.

Initially authorities were unable to verify her identity, so they gave her the nickname "Pumpkin" after the Pumpkin Patch branded clothing she was wearing.

But "Pumpkin" was actually Qian Xun Xue and her father Nai Yin Xue abandoned her after killing her mother back in New Zealand.

Simon Scott was the Detective Senior Sergeant in charge of the investigation that crossed three international borders.

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In January 2008, Gil Elliott received the worst news possible. His 22-year-old daughter Sophie had been stabbed to death. He talks to Jesse Mulligan about those moments, the horror that followed and his fight for change.

In 2008, Sophie Elliot was stabbed to death by her former partner, Clayton Weatherston.

Since her death, her family have been tirelessly campaigning for changes to prevent another case like hers.

Gil Elliott talks to Jesse about the dreadful events of January 2008 and the fight for victims rights and changes to policies to stop academic staff having relationships with students.

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The 1928 murder of Elsie Walker is one of New Zealand's oldest cold cases. She disappeared from the Bay of Plenty and her body was discovered by schoolboys, days later, in Auckland.

Elsie Walker went missing from the Bay of Plenty and was found dead in Auckland days later.

She was discovered by some young boys and was still wearing her maid's uniform.

Crime author, Scott Bainbridge wrote about this mysterious case in his book Shot in the Dark. He talks to Charlotte Ryan about the details of Elsie's life and death.

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In 2009, Taito Phillip Field was convicted of bribery and corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. Lockwood Smith was an opposition MP and recalls keeping the pressure on in parliament, to ensure Field was held to account.

Taito Phillip Field was a minister in the Labour government when he was accused of using his position for personal gain.

The Right Honourable Sir Lockwood Smith was Opposition spokesperson on Immigration when the allegations first came to light and maintained continued pressure on the Minister during parliament question time.

Taito Phillip Field eventually went to prison following a police investigation, becoming the first member of parliament to be convicted of bribery and corruption in New Zealand.

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In 2007, 20-year-old Emma Agnew put a sign up in her car advertising it for sale. A man answered the ad, but he wasn't interested in buying the car. As Stuff senior reporter Martin Van Beynan describes his intentions were far more sinister.

20-year-old Emma Agnew disappeared in November 2007.

Emma and her entire immediate family were deaf and well-known within New Zealand's deaf community.

The alarm was raised almost immediately, but it would be 12 days before her body would be found in forest north of Christchurch.

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Emma Ferris loaned $300,000 to her boyfriend only to discover he was conning her. In this episode of Crimes NZ, Emma describes the battle for her life-savings and her future.

In 2018 Emma Ferris began relationship with Andrew Thomson, an entrepreneur with colourful stories about his past and future ventures.

Emma loaned a large sum to the conman believing it was destined for legitimate investment. The very next day she found out he wasn't who he said he was.

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In 1886 the bustling town of Timaru was stunned when society darling Thomas Hall was arrested for the attempted murder of his wife, Kitty. Author Peter Graham outlines one of the most sensational cases of 19th century New Zealand.

In 1886, as he sentenced Thomas Hall to life in prison for the attempted poisoning of his wife Kitty Hall, the presiding judge said: "You have achieved in the annals of crime the position of being the vilest criminal ever tried in New Zealand."

Tom Hall was part of a rich and influential family in Timaru, but when he ran into financial troubles, his solution was to marry a rich wife, have a child with her and then kill her.

Peter Graham, author of Vile Crimes: the Timaru Poisonings recounts his discoveries of what might be New Zealand's first celebrity trial.

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David Bain spent 13 years in prison after being found guilty of killing his family in 1994 - however he always maintained his innocence and he was acquitted in a retrial in 2009.

On the 24th of June, 1994, Robin (58) and Margaret Bain (50) and three of their children, Arawa (19), Laniet (18) and Stephen (14), were found dead in their Dunedin home.

Four days later, the only surviving family member - 22 year-old David Bain - was arrested for their murders.

Martin van Beynan's written extensively on the Bain family murders, including his own podcast Black Hands.

David Bain was found guilty of murder in 1995 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

But in 2009, he was acquitted at a retrial.

Stuff senior reporter Martin van Baynen sat through the three month retrial and does not believe the evidence pointing to Robin Bain being the murder stacks up.

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The presiding judge described the death of Delcelia Witika as one of the most disturbing cases of child abuse to come before the High Court. David Mcloughlin covered the case.

Delcelia Witika's mother and stepfather were both were sentenced to 16 years in jail, for her manslaughter.

A judge described this case as the most disturbing to come before the High Court.

Delcelia was just two years old when she died as a result of peritonitis, caused by blows to her stomach.

Former Herald journalist, David McLoughlin, recalls covering the case and the dramatic revelation of a video showing the couple partying while the toddler was at home dying.

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In November 1990, thirteen people were shot and killed in the seaside village of Aramoana. Tim Ashton was a member of the anti-terrorism squad that was sent in to stop the gunman.

Thirty-three year-old David Gray began shooting after a confrontation with one of his neighbours over a dog.

By the end of his rampage, 13 people were dead and several others were injured.

The police's anti-terrorism squad was sent in to stop David Gray's shooting rampage.

It is New Zealand's second deadliest mass shooting, after the Christchurch mosque attacks which saw 51 people killed.

Tim Ashton was a member of the Anti-Terrorist Squad who was sent in to stop Gray. He shares his recollections of the day and his subsequent battle to change gun legislation.

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David Ross was jailed in 2013 for running a ponzi scheme that resulted in thousands of New Zealand investors losing millions of dollars.

David Ross, the former director of the failed company Ross Asset Management, was jailed in November 2013 for 10 years and 10 months, with a minimum non-parole period of half that time.

The ponzi scheme he'd been running collapsed in 2012, owing investors $115 million.

Ross's fraudulent scheme was frozen in 2012 with 200 investors who had made money and 600 who lost money.

A year later, he pleaded guilty to charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Markets Authority.

At the conclusion of the trial, Judge Denys Barry called Ross a liar and a thief and said the scale of his offending is unprecedented in New Zealand.

Former New Zealand Herald Wellington business editor Hamish Rutherford describes how he came to follow the story and what he discovered.

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In 1987, pig hunters stumbled upon the body of Robert Gawith kicking off a murder inquiry with links to the infamous Mr Asia drug syndicate.

It was a case that sparked headlines like 'NZ's Bonnie and Clyde' or 'Lawless Lovers' when it was discovered that a couple with links to the Mr Asia crime syndicate were behind the murder of 23 year-old Robert Gawith.

Robert Gawith was celebrating a hefty payout when he was brutally murdered by couple Patrick and Jennifer Norton-Bennett.

Former police officer, Wayne Kiely worked on the case and talks about how the death of the young man was solved and became the undoing of a key player in the Mr Asia Drug syndicate.

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In the early hours of July 8, 2010, Scott Guy was gunned down at his farm gate. Police suspected his brother-in-law, but he was found not-guilty and no one else has been held accountable for the killing.

Thirty-one year old Scott Guy was on his way to work, it was just a regular day, when he was murdered in his driveway.

He had no known enemies and there were very few clues to point to who might have wanted him dead.

Eventually, police discovered there had been tensions between Guy and his brother-in-law Ewen Macdonald and that Macdonald had committed a string of other crimes in the neighbourhood.

They arrested him for murder, but he was found not-guilty.

Stuff Investigative journalist Mike White discusses why the police case against Ewen Macdonald failed and who else might have been responsible for Scott Guy's murder.

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In 1960, police discovered the body of a man in a central Auckland apartment, but it is the disappearance of his wife, Cynthia Grierson Jackson that has baffled police for more than half a decade.

Neighbours describe one night where there were loud voices coming from the apartment of Cynthia Grierson Jackson and her husband, Michael.

Otherwise, there was nothing to suggest the grisly scene police would discover a couple of days later.

Scott Bainbridge, author of Without a Trace, investigated the disappearance of Cynthia Grierson Jackson and police discovered Michael Grierson Jackson died of blood loss after castrating himself.

His wife has never been found.

The only lead police had is that days before his death, Michael returned Cynthia's uniform to her workplace and told her colleagues she had left him.

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Six people were killed and four injured when Stephen Anderson took his father's shotgun and went on a rampage in the sleepy North Island settlement of Raurimu, in 1997. Michael Morrah interviewed Anderson and tells his story.

When Stephen Anderson saw his parents and their friends eating breakfast at the family bach in Raurimu, he became convinced they were part of a conspiracy to end the world.

His actions led to one of the worst massacre's in New Zealand's history.

Stephen Anderson was found not guilty of the murders or attempted murders by reason of insanity.

He was granted limited release from a psychiatric facility in 2009.

Newshub investigations reporter Michael Morrah interviewed Stephen Anderson several years ago, and describes what was going through Anderson's mind on the day of the murders.

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In the winter of 1954, two schoolgirls - Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme - murdered Pauline's mother on a remote walking track in Christchurch. Author Peter Graham recounts the events leading to Honora Parker's death.

On June 22,1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker went for tea and a walk at Victoria Park in Christchurch's Port Hills with Pauline's mother, Honorah Parker.

It was there, on one of the park's remote walking tracks, that the teenage girls brutally killed Pauline's mother.

True crime writer Peter Graham wrote a book about the case called So Brilliantly Clever and he describes how 16-year-old Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, 15, became two of New Zealand's most notorious murderers.

Fearing separation, they came to believe Honora Parker was the only thing standing in the way of their being together.

At trial, the pair were found guilty but due to their age and lack of proper holding facilities for them, they only served about five years in prison.

Juliet Hulme later changed her name to Anne Perry and became a successful writer. Both she and Parker now live in the United Kingdom.

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Barrister Simon Shamy describes the tragic murder of Ruby Knox. He represented Donella Knox who admitted killing her daughter.

In May 2016, Donella Knox sedated and then smothered her 21-year-old daughter, Ruby.

She was sent to jail for four years.

Donella had been the sole carer for her daughter Ruby for 20 years.

Ruby was severely autistic and intellectually disabled. She could not speak, was violent and needed constant care.

Mr Shamy said mother and daughter loved each other very much, and had no one but each other.

"The level of pain and suffering that Ms Knox has undergone for 20 years on her own and now for the rest of her life is unparalled in my experience," he said.

In sentencing Ms Knox, Justice Joe Williams described the case as "once in a generation" which made a life sentence manifestly unjust.

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On New Years Eve, 1976, 36-year-old Heidi Charles vanished without a trace. True crime writer Scott Bainbridge explains how this baffling case has been mixed up with other high-profile disappearances.

On New Years' Eve 1976, 36-year-old Heidi Charles was dropped off in central Rotorua to do some shopping.

She arranged to meet her husband, Robert, and two sons an hour later at Fenton Park. But she never turned up.

It was one of the busiest days of the year in the holiday hotspot, but no one has come forward with information about what might have happened to Charles.

There were two possible sightings of her, one in a clothing store shortly before she was due to meet her family and another on the outskirts of town.

Police went to extreme lengths to try to figure out what happened to her, including throwing a sheep carcass into a hot pool.

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In 2011, 17 year-old Emily Longley was strangled to death by her boyfriend. Her father, Mark Longley, recounts the battle for justice and the healing process.

On the 7th May 2011, Emily Longley was found dead at her boyfriend's house in Bournemouth, England.

The 17 year old New Zealand had moved to England to go to college. She had only been there for eight months.

Emily's boyfriend, 21 year-old Elliot Turner, was eventually charged with her murder and his parents were charged with covering up the crime.

During his trial, Elliot Turner claimed that he acted in self-defence but during sentencing, Justice Dobbs said he had "bullied, harassed, threatened and assaulted" Ms Longley.

Turner must serve at least 16 years before he can apply for parole.

Emily's father, Mark Longley, is Digital Managing Editor and Newshub and he has made a podcast podcast series - Death: Love, grief and hope

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David McNee was beaten to death in his own home in 2003. His killer was found guilty of manslaughter after using a provocation defence referred to as the 'gay panic' defence.

In 2003, Philip Edwards went to David McNee's house to perform a sex show for $120 but ended up killing the well known interior designer.

McNee's killer used a partial 'provocation defence' which was at the time referred to as the 'gay panic' defence.

He was eventually found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Law Professor Elisabeth McDonald from Canterbury University has looked into this case and the controversial defence used.

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It's one of the most brazen robberies in New Zealand's history. In November 1956, Auckland mobsters made off with the equivalent today of $1 million after breaking into the Waterfront Industry Commission's offices.

In 1956, Auckland mobsters might have pulled off the heist of the century, after breaking into the Waterfront Industry Commission offices and making off with the equivalent of a million dollars.

In his book The Great New Zealand Robbery, Scott Bainbridge tells the rollicking story of how robbers blew up a safe in the Waterfront Industry Office which was full with the week's wages.

A man named Trevor Nash was eventually arrested, tried and jailed for the offence. Then he escaped and only a stroke of luck enabled police to recapture him.

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The 1992 murder of English tourist, Margery Hopegood, stunned the country. She was in New Zealand to discover her roots, but was stabbed to death in a Hamilton toilet block.

Margery Hopegood was born in New Zealand but had been adopted by a English family and raised there.

She had been back in New Zealand just four days when she was brutally murdered.

The murder was huge news and the people of Hamilton turned out in their hundreds to a memorial service for a woman none of them know.

Wellington playwright and actor Nicola Pauling has a strong family connection to Margery and turned the full story of her visit to New Zealand into a play called She Danced on a Friday.

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On August 16, 1980, 6 year-old Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her bed, in the room she shared with her 8-year-old sister. For years the case has gone unsolved, but police are currently following up new leads

Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her bed in her Avondale home on August 16, 1980.

It appears she was killed while her eight-year-old sister slept just metres away.

This episode of Crimes NZ is a crime against a young child and is not suitable for younger listeners. If you or someone you know needs mental wellbeing support or advice then call or text 1737 anytime day or night to talk to a trained counsellor.

Despite a lengthy initial investigation, and multiple reviews, her killer has never been found but Auckland police have recently been re-investigating the case.

New Zealand Herald investigative reporter Jared Savage wrote a special report on the case. He says although some physical clues were left at the scene, matching DNA to suspect samples was science fiction in 1980.

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In May 2009, three Napier police officers entered Jan Molenaar's home searching for drugs. The execution of a simple search warrant turned into a three day stand-off and ended with two deaths.

Jan Molenaar arrived home to find police searching his home for drugs on May 7, 2009. He was furious and got out a gun, ordering the police officers out of his home. Then he started firing.

Constable Len Snee was killed and the two other police officers there were injured, along with Lenny Holmwood, a friend of Molenaar.

Molenaar barricaded himself in, shooting at police for two full days before turning the gun on himself. Police would wait another full day to ensure it was safe the enter the property and declare the siege over.

Hawke's Bay Today senior reporter Doug Laing was on the scene, covering the even and remembers the tense stand-off.

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Chris and Cru Kahui were just 84 days old when they were fatally injured in their Auckland home. Their father, also Chris, was charged with murder but eventually acquitted of the crime.

It was a case that shocked the nation. The deaths of newborn twin boys, Chris and Cru Kahui in 2006.

The twins' father Chris was charged with their murder, but he was eventually acquitted.

Marie Dyhrberg, lawyer for the twins' mother, Macsyna King, said she was vilified in the media and it wasn't until the coronial inquiry that real light was shed on what happened to the boys.

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On September 1, 1983 Kirsa Jensen saddled up her horse for a ride along Awatoto beach, near her home in Napier and was never seen again.

Kirsa Jensen's body has never been found and no one has ever been charged with her murder.

The 14-year-old disappeared on September 1, 1983.

Retired Detective Inspector Ian Holyoake headed the investigation into Kirsa's disappearance.

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Lorraine Cohen and her son Aaron spent much of the 80's locked up in a Malaysia prison facing the death penalty.

In 1984, Lorraine Cohen and her son Aaron were arrested at a Malaysian airport and charged with drug trafficking, a charge that carried a death penalty.

Journalist Tim Donoghue spent much of his career covering the story and eventually wrote about book called The Tiger Who Smiled about the legal battle to save the Cohens.

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It was the biggest white collar crime New Zealand had ever seen, totalling $1.5 billion dollars, and at the centre of it all was South Canterbury Finance.

South Canterbury Finance went into voluntary receivership in 2010, claiming a $1.5 billion dollar government bailout.

Four years later, the company director was dead and three other board members were charged with the largest fraud New Zealand had ever seen.

NZ Herald reporter Matt Nippert tells Jesse Mulligan how his investigation triggered the prosecution.

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Philip Nisbet was found dead in his Christchurch home on May 4, 2009. Four years later his wife was found guilty of murder.

In 2013, Helen Milner was found guilty of drugging her husband in order to get the life insurance payout.

Four years earlier, she had convinced police her husband killed himself.

But Lee-Anne Cartier, the victim's sister, felt something was off and began her own investigation.

NZ Herald reporter Kurt Bayer followed the case through the courts - it was dubbed The Black Widow case.

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The disappearance of Jane Furlong is a mystery that has gripped the nation for nearly thirty years.

In 1993, 17-year-old Jane Furlong disappeared from Auckland's Karangahape Road.

Nineteen years later her remains were found on a beach at Port Waikato. Her killer has never been brought to justice.

Stuff journalist Kelly Dennett wrote The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Jane Furlong, a book which won a Ngiao Marsh award for Best Non-Fiction and outlines everything we know about the case.

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Six-year old Teresa Cormack went missing in 1987. Her body was found 10 days later. For 15 years her murder remained unsolved, until investigators got the breakthrough of the century.

In 1987, on the 19th of June, the body of Teresa Cormack was found half buried under a tree on Whirinaki Beach, in Hawke's Bay.

It took 15 years for find her killer.

She left for school, but never arrived in class.

Former detective Keith Price worked the case in those early days and interviewed Jules Mikus after DNA technology pointed to him being the killer.

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In 2002, Mark Lundy was found guilty of killing his wife Christine and 7-year old daughter Amber, but investigative journalist Mike White has some questions about the prosecution's case.

Christine Lundy and her seven-year old daughter Amber were brutally killed in their own home in August, 2000.

Two years later, Mark Lundy, Christine's husband and Amber's father, was convicted of their murders.

Mark Lundy was in Wellington on a business trip, but became concerned when he could not get hold of his wife. He asked his brother-in-law to check on his family.

When Mr Weggery stepped into the Lundys' home he found a horrific scene. His niece lay dead in the doorway of her parents' bedroom. Christine Lundy's body lay on her bed in a room spattered with blood.

Both had been brutally bludgeoned to death

It would be five months before the police made an arrest. The public were stunned when they learned it was the deceased's husband and father, Mark Lundy, who was charged.

The motive suggested for the killings was the family's dire financial situation.

Mike White began investigating Mark Lundy's case in 2007 because the evidence did not seem to add up. Thirteen years later, twenty years after the deaths of Christine and Amber, he published an article in North and South titled: Anatomy of a Scandal, 20 years of lies, cover ups, incompetence and shonky science.

Mark Lundy is still battling to clear his name.

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Coral-Ellen Burrows was reported missing on September 9th, 2003. She was six years old. Former detective John Gualter worked on the case, known as Operation Reef.

On September 9 2003, six-year-old Featherston girl Coral Ellen Burrows was reported missing. Police were alerted when her mother went to pick her up from school, and found out that she hadn't attended class that day.

Ten days later, Coral's stepfather Stephen Williams was arrested and charged with her murder.

Former detective sergeant John Gualter worked the case known as Operation Reef.

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The details of the 1977 murder of Betty Benning were so bizarre, movie producer Philly De Lacey turned it into a black comedy.

In 1977 on a quiet Karori street, Alf Benning brutally murdered his wife Betty.

Her body parts were discovered buried beneath a freshly planted apple tree in the backyard. Alf had copies of books borrowed from the local library about getting away with murder.

The killing is the subject of the black comedy film How to Murder Your Wife which was released in 2015 and produced by Philly de Lacey, chief executive of Screentime.

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The 1985 bombing of the Rainbow Warrior is described as the first act of terrorism against New Zealand. An assault which claimed the life of Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira.

On 10 July 1985 the Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, was sunk at an Auckland wharf.

Two French agents planted two explosives on the ship while it was berthed at Marsden wharf, the second explosion killed Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira.

Author and academic, David Robie, spent weeks on the ship shortly before it was attacked, and wrote about his experience in Eyes of Fire.

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In 2002, an armed stranger snatched Baby Kahu from her stroller and held her for ransom for nine long days.

Wellington lawyer Donna Hall was walking her dog with two nieces and eight-month-old baby Kahu, when a stranger brandishing a gun grabbed the baby and drove off.

The next day the family was sent a ransom note demanding $3 million dollars.

For nine terrifying days the family had no idea where Baby Kahu was or if she was safe.

NZ Herald senior crime and justice reporter, Anna Leask, who also hosts a podcast series A Moment In Crime, recalls the case.

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It's one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in New Zealand history. In 1984, a bomb went off on the Trades Hall in Wellington killing caretaker Ernie Abbott. Former Secretary Graeme Clark remembers that day and the confusion that followed.

On the 27th of March, 1984 at the Trades Hall in Wellington, caretaker Ernie Abbott bent over to pick up a suitcase left behind earlier in the day. It contained the equivalent of three sticks of gelignite in explosive power, which were set off by an unusual switch device inside.

The 64 year-old was killed instantly.

Mr Abbott was the sole victim of the attack and despite numerous investigations, police have always struggled to identify a motive for the bombing.

They've also never laid charges for the bombing, but they believe they know who committed the crime.

In 2017, they received new information and began collecting DNA samples from suspects. Back in 1984 there were 500 persons of interest.

Detective senior sergeant Warwick McKee told RNZ's Morning Report that they were determined to resolve the investigation for Ernie Abbott and his family.

"We're pretty certain it wasn't aimed at Ernie Abbott, he was unfortunately the person that picked up the suitcase at the end of the day, being the caretaker. We believe it was targeted towards Trades Hall staff and employees."

Secretary of the Wellington Trades Council, Graeme Clark remembers that day and the confusion that followed.

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In October 2016, a group of women gathered in West Auckland for a pamper party. It ended with the death of Carly Stewart. Defence lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg QC was involved in the case.

In October 2016, a group of women gathered in West Auckland for what was supposed to be a fun social event - a chance to do their nails, catch up with friends, and have a few drinks.

But the party took a bizarre and violent turn, when Anna Browne stabbed mother-of-two Carly Stewart to death. The case became known as the 'pamper party' stabbing.

In the High Court in Auckland, Browne was found guilty of murder in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years.

Browne stabbed Ms Stewart once in the head with a large kitchen knife, inflicting an 11 centimetre stab wound.

She died after losing massive amounts of blood.

Defence lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg QC, represented Browne.

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In 1989, two Swedish tourists, Sven Urban Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen, went missing in the Coromandel. Mr Höglin's body was discovered by pig hunters in 1991, but Ms Paakkonen has not been seen since.

David Tamihere spent 21 years in prison for the 1989 murders of Sven Urban Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen.

The Swedish tourists and had gone tramping in bush near Thames in April. They were reported missing in May.

David Tamihere was convicted of their murders in 1990, he was granted parole late in 2010.

Convicted double murderer Roberto Conchie Harris claimed Tamihere told him he had sexually molested Ms Paakkonen and Mr Höglin, killed them and dumped their bodies at sea.

Mr Höglin's body was found in a shallow grave in 1991, but Ms Paakkonen has never been found.

In 2017, Harris was found guilty of lying to the court and in 2020 Tamihere's conviction was referred back to the Court of Appeal.

Investigative reporter Donna Chisholm has covered the story for years with all its twists and turns.

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15-year-old Canterbury teenager, Kirsty Bentley from Ashburton went missing after taking her dog for a walk on New Year's Eve in 1998 - her body was found just over two weeks later. Stuff journalists Blair Ensor and Martin van Beynen recently completed an investigative piece on the unsolved case.

It's one of the most high-profile cold cases in New Zealand's history - the murder of Canterbury teenager, Kirsty Bentley.

The 15-year-old from Ashburton went missing after taking her dog for a walk on New Year's Eve in 1998, and her body was found in bushes near the Rakaia Gorge just over two weeks later.

The case has never been solved.

Eighteen years after her body was discovered, the coroner ruled the death of Kirsty Bentley was not accidental.

Her older brother, John, the last person to see her alive, told police she left the house late in the afternoon to take the family dog for a walk.

Two weeks later, on the day before her 16th birthday, Kirsty's partially buried body was found 60km away near the Rakaia Gorge.

Stuff journalist, Blair Ensor and Martin van Beynen wrote an indepth investigative piece on the case.

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Canterbury plant scientist David Lloyd fell severely ill in suspicious circumstances in 1992. The ensuing investigation became known as the 'poisoned professor case'.

When Canterbury scientist David Lloyd fell ill in 1992, suspicious immediately fell on his former lover.

Dr Vicky Calder was arrested in 1994 and stood trial twice for attempted murder, or alternatively poisoning with intent.

Lady Deborah Chambers QC presented The Trial - Crown vs Calder

Dr Calder was accused of poisoning Mr Lloyd with a chemical neurotoxin known as acrylamide.

He was in a coma for months and was left blind with severe nerve damage.

The first trial ended in a hung jury, the second jury found Dr Calder not guilty.

Lady Deborah Chambers QC, who presented a documentary called The Trial - Crown vs Calder, in 1997.

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On a Sunday afternoon in Christchurch in 1996, scrap metal dealer John Reynolds failed to return home for lunch. Later that evening, his brother found the 55-year-old lying in a pool of blood at the scrap yard.

Fifty-five year old John Reynolds was discovered lying in a pool of blood at this scrap metal yard in 1996.

He had been hit repeatedly around the head with a blunt instrument.

More than two decades on, Mr Reynolds' killer has never been found but the case is still very much alive.

Blair Ensor and Martin Van Beynen investigated the murder for the three-part Stuff podcast, Heavy Metal.

They were told there were no signs of a struggle, suggesting Reynolds was hit from behind and incapacitated and if robbery was the motive, the killer missed $2200 in the top pocket of his work shirt.

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The case that brought the word "bondage" to dinner tables around the nation. Renee Chignall was a teenage dominatrix who was tried three times for the murder of Peter Plumley-Walker in January 1989.

Peter Plumley-Walker died during a bondage session at the Remuera home of Renee Chignall and Neville Walker in January, 1989.

The couple dumped his body over the Huka Falls.

Renee Chignall was a teenage dominatrix who, along with her partner Neville Walker, was tried three times for the murder of Peter Plumley-Walker.

Renee Chignall's lawyer, Stuart Grieve, discusses the case.

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Investigative journalist and presenter David Lomas began covering the Mr Asia drug ring case when he was a crime reporter at the Dominion newspaper in Wellington in 1978. He has followed the story ever since.

The Mr Asia drug ring imported large quantities of drugs into New Zealand and Australia through the 70s.

The drug ring, one of the largest New Zealand has ever seen, was led by Marty Johnstone, the original Mr Asia, and grew from marijuana imports to a massive heroin operation.

Johnstone was killed on the orders of drug lord Terry Clark, divers found his mutilated body in a flooded quarry in England.

David Lomas, investigative journalist, has followed the story since the late 70s.

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David Dougherty was convicted for the rape and abduction of an 11 year old girl in 1993. But he wasn't guilty of the crime. Donna Chisholm was the journalist at the centre of the campaign to free him and have him compensated.

In 1993, David Dougherty was convicted of abducting and raping an 11-year-old girl in Auckland.

He spent more than three years in prison before being acquitted at a retrial in 1997, following fresh DNA evidence.

Journalist Donna Chisholm supported him through his retrial and during his long fight for compensation.

Dougherty died of pancreatic cancer in 2017 and Chisholm told RNZ's Saturday Morning the trauma of the conviction fueled Mr Dougherty's alcoholism, which is linked to pancreatic cancer.

"He was damaged for the rest of his life by it, and he couldn't get through it."

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Deane Fuller-Sandys went missing on 21 August, 1989 after setting off to go fishing at the rough West Auckland beach Whatipu and for nearly a decade he was presumed drowned.

Deane Fuller-Sandys went missing on 21 August,1989 after setting off to go fishing at the rough West Auckland beach Whatipu and for nearly a decade he was presumed drowned.

In February 1997, police began investigating tips which led them to charge Auckland woman Gail Maney with ordering a "hit" on Fuller-Sandys.

Maney has always denied any role in the murder and in the 2018 RNZ-Stuff podcast Gone Fishing, she said she had never even met Fuller-Sandys.

Former police officer turned private detective Tim McKinnel believes Gail Maney is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. He talks about the campaign to uncover the evidence to have her exonerated. He believes her appeal could be bigger than Teina Pora's.

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Teina Pora was wrongly imprisoned for 20 years for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett, brutally attacked in her Papatoetoe home in March 1992. Investigative journalist Eugene Bingham joins Jesse to us through the case.

On Monday 23 March, 1992, Susan Burdett was raped and beaten to death with a softball bat.

What followed would become one of this country's most prominent miscarriages of justice.

Teina Pora was convicted of Burdett's rape and murder in 1994, found guilty again at a retrial in 2000, but eventually the convictions were quashed by the Privy Council in 2004.

In 2020, prolific rapist Malcolm Rewa was found guilty of the crime.

Investigative Journalist Eugene Bingham spent four years investigating the case and describes how a man spent more than 20-years of his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

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Olivia Hope and Ben Smart disappeared in the Marlborough Sounds in the early hours of New Year's Day in 1998. Investigative journalist and author, Mike White, has covered this case through all its twists and turns over two decades.

Ben Smart and Olivia Hope were last seen about 4am on January 1 1998 when they were dropped off to a yacht by a water taxi.

Ben and Olivia were planning to sleep on the chartered yacht Tamarack but found all the berths were full.

Three other passengers were travelling on the water-taxi, one was a single man who offered the pair a place to sleep on his yacht.

Ben and Olivia head off with the man, to his yacht - this is the last time they are seen alive.

Five months later, on the 15th of June, 1998, Scott Watson was arrested and charged with their murder.

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