Van Beynen lost in hate?

I always objected to Van Beynen's claim of being an expert on the Bain case for a single reason. He was never impartial in the manner expected of an objective observer. There were 2 areas in particular which he never reported on correctly from the trials. One in particular was from the first trial regarding the strip search of David Bain. The notes of evidence from the police doctor describing on a chart injuries or marks to David did not include any scratches to David's chest, something of striking importance and made much of by those belonging to what I have called the hate-sites from where David was maligned with pure lies. As the hate-siters infiltrated the internet in the early days that used defamatory language and lied through their teeth. 1 of the biggest lies was about the scratches to the chest which was a fall back point when their arguments conflicted with the facts. But it was a lie and something Van Beynen appeared to ignore deliberately. He didn't set the record straight.

The second point was the blood found in the rifle barrel found abandoned by Robin Bain's body. Also critical evidence indicating a close contact shot and not murder. The rifle barrel blood destroyed the Crown theory of David hiding behind the curtain and shooting his father, Of course this was not supported by the bullet trajectory required but like the scratches, there was no stopping the 'hang-bainers' on this point and no sign of the expert Van Beynen willing to set the record straight. He made much of being at every day of the retrial which also conflicted with what he would later say about the jury who he ran down and reported their alleged conduct to the public but never to the Court. Not surprisingly no one from the Court supported his story but that didn't stop Van Beynen. In fact he was emboldened to start stalking the Jury. From posts I have read on the Justice For Robin Bain site some of which are gathered here in other blogs, that site saw him as an ally in stalking the Jury after the trial, identifying and trying to track down Jury members - all illegal activity. Van Beynen himself received a warning from Christchurch police after one Jury member reported him for bothering and harassing her. So objective or bias, his own writing and actions display the latter. Some readers here will know I complained to the Press Council about 1 piece Van Beynen wrote the Press Council did not uphold the complaint but most pointedly did not print my complaint in full - they left out Van Beynan's family contacts in the police,  and his 'warning' by police to stay away from the Jury. That warning was a very fortunate call by police and 1 which may yet be reviewed as on the face of it Van Beynan knew it was illegal and the complaint was legitimate.

So we arrive at a stuff article announcing a pcast by Van Beynen in which he claims interest in the Bain case remains high. Clearly not high enough to warrant a TV show to match the most recent where a discovery by David Giles and what was most probably gunshot residue on Robin's thumb was the subject. Van Beynen got the low budget version. From reading the stuff report that may have been that the convincing stuff Van Beynen thought was of interest was other material found in Margaret Bain's diary. I have no idea what it was but it certainly couldn't trump Margaret writing that Robin was the devil who she was afraid would get a gun and 'shoot the family', something also contained here in another earlier post. Van Beynen also claimed to have tracked down some old friends of Davids. Both reasons why I would not bother 4 hours of droning audio from Van Beynen. The old friends effort to try and overcome a crime scene  pointing at Robin is not only boring but shows the substance of Van Beynen's intellect and why he appealed to the hate-siters who lapped up anything including crap by the bucket full.

This could possibly be the sad part. Van Beynen described what could be viewed as a lonely existence. Trying to pump oxygen back into the Bain case with rumour then to reveal that he had his now grown son's room as some kind of shrine or similar to the Bain case. Really?

Resolving Miscarriages of Justice in New Zealand. Watson and Lundy.

I've blogged little this year, not because I have lost interest but rather because I've had the chance to open the door further in 2 current New Zealand Miscarriages of Justice both of which have gathered interest from off shore. That is Lundy and Watson of course. I am not in the position to say what I have discovered, or been privy to what others have discovered in these 2 cases but it is very significant. Over time I think both these cases will fall apart. Rather than go into detail now I thought I'd generally talk about Miscarriages of Justice and trying to think them through. There are a few clear rules.

1/ Never start from a position other than that of having an open mind and being objective.
2/ Never believe anything because you want to, or because someone else has said so. If it doesn't make sense there will be a reason.
3/ If you discover something which you think is significant always be prepared to reconsider it or to accept that with clear evidence that you may be wrong.
4/ Never (and this is possibly the hardest) be influenced by the details of the crime or information about the person who allegedly committed the crime. To do so is hazardous, hold the particular person away from you as far as possible when considering aspects of the case. This to ensure your subjective views do not take control. Both the Lundy and Watson case involved horrific crimes that for many influence them in their opinions. That can be seen on message boards where the cases are 'discussed' often mostly about the alleged character of the accused persons and what it is said they did. This is by far the most frequent trap as I found in the Bain case where most arguments against David's innocence revolve around personal attacks against him. So it is also true in Watson and Lundy.
5/Where I have said don't be influenced by details of the crime. I am not saying to ignore the details because indeed they are the most important clues. But rather don't consider them personally, they are in fact evidence which must be understood objectively and without anger or feeling.
6/As far as possible get right into the crime scene. No aspect is more important. Once in the crime scene don't accept other people's interpretations but work on your own. Test your own conclusions ruthlessly to ensure you are being dispassionate and not driven by subjective analysis. If you are able to conclude a genuine objective about the crime scene then move onto other aspects but not before. When and if you find you can move on, always go back to the crime scene when under any pressure or confused about other evidence. If the crime scene is interpreted correctly, all else will follow, you just need to reconsider and search your mind for the potential answers.
7/ Don't readily accept your own conclusions and always reconsider them as you learn more about the case.
8/ Look to put a logical narrative together. Every crime starts and finishes in some way - the beginning and end of the facts.
9/ Never be afraid to be wrong, in fact welcome it because then you know you have invested in being right and become closed minded as a result. You are functioning properly when you are not afraid to be wrong.
10/ Search, search and search. Not just for facts but for logical progression of the narrative. Always ask questions even of apparently established evidence because you may find a lot of people have made wrong conclusions and are afraid or unwilling to change them. Some will have possibly fabricated, fudged or hidden evidence - even planted evidence. You need your wits about you at all times.

These are but a few of the rules but hopefully they give the information, or at least part of that which is required.

I can say with Watson and Lundy, as I also reached with David Bain, Pora and Ewen McDonald earlier on this blog and later with Jeremy Bamber on a blog overseas that the 2 men are innocent and that they should be freed. In fact must be freed.

Before concluding I say again as I have before do not forget Allan Hall.

Over a period of time I may be able to open up a little more about the Watson and Lundy cases and many folks will be surprised if they have failed to be objective in considering those cases.

Cheers for now.

Rewa investigation - what about Mike Bush?

For a long time Teina Pora has been the name most associated with the murder of Susan Burdett. Pora the name foremost for another man's crimes, but it was Rewa that was convicted as a serial rapist, convicted of also raping Susan Burdett and acquitted of her murder. It's a mockery sold by the police and the Crown that Pora raped Susan and later, or contemporaneously, Teina murdered her.

Right back then at the time of the murder and before, police used Rewa as an informer buried in the Highway 61 gang. Police as we know protect their informers - often extra judicially. What the public should expect is that the police inquiry into the Burdett murder (a second time and hopefully a lot better than the first) is to get to the bottom of how far the original police inquiry was either deterred from investigating Rewa, or in fact how much of a blind eye was turned his way allowing him to continue his crimes against women. That issue is now the heart of what soon will no longer be called the Pora case but rather the Rewa case.

I've believed for years that police deliberately kept their eyes closed to the fact of Teina's innocence for 2 reasons. Firstly, to appear that they were right in arresting Pora and that the right man was in prison for Susan's death. Then secondly, and more importantly now, to avoid acknowledging that police contributed to Rewa's crimes by leaving him free when he had already been named as the rapist of one complainant, who incidentally was told by police that she needed to have his name before they could do anything and when she bravely complied, still ignored investigating Rewa as he continued to hunt other woman while paying police off occasionally with information.

This where the police should know be spending their resources, not investigating Susan's death again because they have enough to convict Rewa already - have since his DNA was found at the crime scene, and had while they facilitated his being found not guilty of her murder by fouling the trial process. How did they ensure that it wasn't a fair trial - by giving the Jury the false option of believing Pora was guilty when police knew he wasn't. The real inquiry into the Rewa case, is to find the police complicit in keeping him protected, not protected so much for Rewa's benefit originally but rather for police and their public profile.

Mike Bush having already, probably prematurely, because the stay of proceedings against Rewa has yet to be lifted, said he has begun a fresh inquiry with new detectives. This inquiry should not just be a fresh murder investigation but should be looking into the police cover up. Find out how high that cover up went, if in fact it went higher than the original investigation commander Rutherford. The public are entitled to know that potential charges are being investigated against Rutherford and other police who could along with Rutherford be responsible not only for Teina's false imprisonment but also for the crimes police silence and inaction allowed Rewa to continue in his hunt for victims.

There are often calls by politicians for inquiries, many times over relatively unimportant issues. The Rewa case is not unimportant it is the thin veneer over potential police corruption that left a rapist free to continue a long rampage - initially perhaps in exchange for a window into the gang scene then more probably than not eventually to hide police involvement or lack of action. An early question arises as to Bush's suitability of being involved in the investigation at all because some of Rewa's crimes happened in his patch when he was area commander. To do justice to the victim's and public interest he should be stepping aside of any involvement, perhaps going on leave or retiring and letting it be seen that the inquiry is going deep into the hidden caverns of the police relationship with Rewa the serial rapist and police informer. While at the same time the inquiry finds out why Andy Lovelock, a former undercover agent around the time of Rewa's offending, was so adamant last year that Pora was guilty and Rewa was not.

Those 2 killers in Lundy

When the dust settles on the Lundy case it has a extraordinary look. 17 years in the making and still unclear. There is 1 particular reason for this, the material found on Mark Lundy's shirt of origin that continues to be debated, and where really the case looks to have gone off the rails.

I'm interested in the DNA found under Christine and Amber's nails reported as coming from 2 unidentified males. I understand that. 2 men in the house maybe that killed the mother and daughter.
So how does DNA get under fingernails, what is known about that. A lot actually. DNA under the nails begins to disappear as the hands are used, washed, picking up a cup, working with the hands. It takes around 6 hours for that to happen for those doing day to day things, eating, sleeping, washing. Most DNA found under nails comes from the person's spouse, partner, near relative, someone  they live or work with. The Crown say that Mark Lundy killed his wife and daughter after 3 am in the morning. That puts Christine and Amber having come into contact with 2 unknown males whose DNA lodged under their fingernails who are of no interest to the Crown.

When I started this blog I knew about DNA of relatives arriving under the nails of those they were in contact or lived with, I knew that DNA generally disappeared within 6 hours as the result of daily routines. More recently I had learnt that foreign DNA was far rarer to be found that came from strangers. I began to think that it's probable arrival was the result, particular in a murder case as the result of a struggle of some sort. This morning when filing some material that had arrived throughout the week in my mail box sent by Professor Chris Halkides an American bio chemist on the teaching staff of  the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Carolina, with several publish papers on his resume and a recent book published regarding forensic science applied to crime solving, an expert of high calibre no less. A man that helped free Amanda Knox.

Some one had mentioned the particular paper to me in passing but I didn't absorb the fine detail of course until reading it this morning. It's explosive for the Lundy case with it's complex science arguments which argue a novel and unorthodox approach to testing decomposed material against safe orthodox testing of highly secured forensic samples using methods which are peer reviewed and of international safety standards. Suddenly the case is back to the crime scene and out of laboratories worldwide intent on arguing what has been said to have been the most important evidence, evidence that can't be agreed upon,  whether it could be human or animal central nervous system matter, could have been already preserved in food production. To be clear I have no problem with the safe and orthodox testing, but I do have a large problem with the novel testing particularly  with its unproven track record that keeps a man in prison. And an even larger problem with our Courts willing to admit evidence from an American not authorised to do forensic tests in America or to give evidence in Court on forensic matters in his own country. It's got bogged down by chance, a chance to prove new pseudo science in a case which has already been found to be a Miscarriage of Justice and where The Crown are given another opportunity where strict law on unproven or potential unsafer forensic procedures would disqualify them from having a second chance.

So opening and reading the correspondence and it's particular link was not only a change of direction somewhat on the Lundy case but the chance to get back to something real, what happened? Not in a
Texas lab, not in a Palmerston North Police station where samples were removed from safe custody control into the hands of an unauthorised person, a break in the forensic pathway control of exhibits -but to the crime scene. A chance to look at evidence, to reconstruct what may have happened and who killed Christine Lundy and her 7 year old daughter Amber.

Here is the abstract or paper summary that brings into clear focus evidence more critical that the forensically abused and unsafe process of the microscopic shirt spots the origin of which continues on unabated to be argued. I like it.

"An important aspect of homicide investigations is the identification of the persons that had the last
contact with the victim prior to death. Violent crimes are frequently characterized by a struggle between the victim and the perpetrator where biological material can be expected to be exchanged between them. Forensic DNA typing enables the generation of genetic profiles by extraction and amplification of cellular material found under fingernails. The evidential value of these samples may be critical if the secondary contributor found in a DNA mixture, can be matched with a potential suspect, or through a DNA database search. The amount of biological material transferred under the fingernails during ‘‘casual’’ activities is not sufficient to genotype reportable mixtures. This may not be the case with homicide victims that may have struggled and died under violent circumstances.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of DNA mixtures found under the fingernails of
both victims and suspected perpetrators of violent deaths. We present a retrospective study of 137 DNA profiles genotyped from fingernail samples of homicide victims and suspects, collected at the Israeli National Center of Forensic Medicine. The majority of the samples produced single source profiles (n = 107, 78%) that matched those of the donor’s. DNA mixtures (n = 30, 22%) were found in increased frequency among victims (n = 25/100, 25%) compared to suspects (n = 5/37, 13.5%). Mixtures were sub-divided into high level (n = 15, 50%), low level (n = 9, 30%) and residual (n = 6, 20%), according to the number of the foreign contributors’ alleles. Thus, this distinctive group of homicide victims was found to express both elevated frequency of DNA mixtures together with
highly informative value of the secondary foreign profiles, as compared to other studied populations.
These findings support an important aspect for the criminal investigation in murder cases, where a
struggle may have ensued and the identification of an additional profile found in a mixture from a
fingernail sample may point to a possible perpetrator of the crime."

So here it is, information dripping with established and orthodox science relevant to the Lundy case, relevant to the deaths of the victims and the fight they may have put up before succumbing to 2 killers. 2 killers you might ask? Yes, 2. The DNA of 2 unknown males under the nails of Christine, confirmed and agreed upon and for some reason not made the main issue at the trial. Why? because of the total argument over what I believe to be the hoax science. Brain dies outside the body immediately, the reason why formalin is used to replace the blood in a body where the brain is to be removed for scientific purposes, deterioration is immediate otherwise. In Lundy we have alleged tiny spots of brain on a shirt in the boot of a car, then in a 'safe' in a police station before taken to America in a bag, not a refrigerated bag either launching an argument which has absorbed 1000s of hours of research, at least 100s of hours of legal preparation and been argued 4 different levels of Courts including the Privy Council where Lundy's first convictions were overturned before our weak Appeal Court agreed to let the evidence be used again in a majority Judgement that fell far below that of the highly researched and frequently argued minority opinion of Ellen France.

Well what I want to know is who are the 2 unknown strangers, why haven't they come forward, why haven't police found them and why is Mark Lundy in prison and not the 2 men that broke into his home while he was 2 hours away in Wellington?

Lundy: how the Courts got it wrong.

Mark Lundy's case is one of those that falls between the cracks of public interest. Yet it remains one of the worst Miscarriages of Justice still on the books of the NZ Justice system. It may be the lack of public interest that has kept curiosity silent in this case, or perhaps just the apparent complexity and the horror of a father allegedly killing his wife and child.

Old friend complexity is the tool of injustice, especially when used in the orthodox way of having weak evidence support weak evidence - the archaic idea of the justice and proof being 'like the strands of a rope, where if one thread is broken the evidence may still stand.' In NZ our Courts have distorted the strands of a rope theory into a vehicle for injustice, it happened in the Thomas case with a cartridge case, in Watson with 2 hairs, Bain with a glass lens, Pora with a false confession and there are others. What these cases demonstrate is where a case is dismantled over time to the point where a single strand of what was once a complete rope holds a highly suspect case together. It is beyond this blog to deal with the others mentioned here in detail, but briefly each of those became controversial cases with 'mountains' of evidence in support that diminished to fragile single threads holding the weight of a Miscarriage of Justice together. How has this happened in NZ, not once but many times? Poor Judicial oversight and reasoning, perhaps even compliance through ignorance or by a deliberate effort to not understand the fundamental aspect of how injustice thrives within the NZ Court system.

We have to start with the shirt spots found on Lundy's shirt which were said to brain matter from his wife Christine. Instead of just taking the narrow view that has sufficed for our COA so far, but which was rejected by the Privy Council - we will look for surrounding data that either supports or which fails to support the 2 spots being brain matter. This is something the NZ COA failed to do constructively, they looked at the 2 spots in isolation and didn't weigh their known history. In other words they opened the book part way through not having satisfied themselves of the safety of reading a story beginning part way through. In fact they assumed the either knew the beginning of the book or that it didn't matter. Of course the beginning does matter with forensic evidence, where it was found and how it was treated. One reason why that has happened is because police have still not disclosed the paperwork surrounding the number of inquiries police made for help from legitimate forensic sources throughout the world.

Brain matter deteriorates quickly outside the human body, rapidly in fact. Quite quickly it may no longer be recognizable for what it is, also be unable to be tested to determine what it is. In the Lundy house where police and scientists went within hours of the murders they found a horror house of blood spattered walls and the bodies of Christine and daughter Lundy both with severe head wounds, possibly caused by an axe or similar. They also found what was obviously brain matter which was already degraded. Common sense, indeed life experience tells us how meat or other perishable items decay, most noticeably on the surface first then eventually inwardly. So here it must be remembered the brain matter found at the scene was recognizable and even for the un-initiated it would have followed that it was brain because of the obvious area of the wounds. Head wounds, brain matter already deteriorating to exposure outside the body and excised from life.

Some distance away is Mark Lundy, later in the boot of his car will be found a shirt allegedly with invisible microscopic marks on the left breast of the shirt. That shirt will eventually be taken from ML and stored as a potential exhibit. It will be the only exhibit item not given to the exhibits officer of the case, something he will later say had never happened before his police career. Eventually, a forensic Scientist Dr Teoh will be asked his opinion on the 2 spots. He will say that the 2 spots are too downgraded to be tested, this is days or weeks after the murders. Teoh will also comment in his report that no man should ever be convicted using such suspect 'evidence.' The officer in charge of the case Grantham will return the shirt to a safe which could be described as a incubator for further deterioration. So the shirt has never been in safe custody to that point and will remain that way even after Grantham is notified of the deterioration and must surely have understood one of the most commonly known facts that biological matter deteriorates from the outside to its centre when openly exposed to air, and of course temperature. Every test lab in NZ controls human body samples in a temperature controlled environment, but that didn't bother Grantham who would later taken the sample in a plastic bag on a 14 hour journey to the States for an unqualified American medical doctor with absolutely no forensic testing qualifications, or approval to test such potentially human samples - to test in his unapproved laboratory set up to detect potential cancerous cells from known sources.

So this is the beginning. The protocol of a safe custody chain for evidence was broken by the officer in charge, he also kept a slide sample lifted from the shirt and known brain matter taken from the scene. It could be argued he retained a tool kit of  prospective evidence which would deteriorate whilst in his care. He was advised by a specialist that he should send the samples to an FBI lab or similar who had experience in handling and identifying potential central nervous system material . Material which will ultimately be found to have no neurons and only a few glial cells. An estimate from the size of the stain lifted from the shirt was somewhere between the size of a grain of sand and grain of rice, genuine central nervous cell tissue equivalent to this size should have contained approx 700,000 neurons and 7 million glial cells, along with 50 million red blood cells. That is the starting point, what should be expected to have been on the slide if it was central nervous tissue. So this is step 2, the sample is inconsistent with being cns on 3 counts, 100s of thousands of neurons missing along with millions of glial cells and red blood cells. It cannot be tested in any Forensic Laboratory in the world because it presents without the fundamental certainties that it may be cns, no forensic scientist will touch it. Already we have 2 errors that our Courts have been willing to overlook. The pattern is set, prevarication, something the police will thrive upon, getting away with breaking a safe custody chain, ignoring specialist advice, ignoring what they know - the sample is missing millions of neurons, glials and red blood cells. Looked at another way their sample has a few what may potentially be glial cells but contains nothing which indicates that it is cns, even before that time the sample was not treated as required by the police manual for the handling of exhibits. Best practice, NZ standards and international standards are broken something which does not have the biological consistency in 3 important markers or indicators as to cns is being advanced, a car driving the wrong way in motorway traffic, a house attempting to be build from the roof down, a disaster unfolding and the Courts saying and doing nothing.

Next the American expert Dr Miller, without forensic qualifications or experience. In fact a tester for antigens and antibodies from known samples, liver, brain, bowel etc taken from known patients thought to be suffering cancer. In NZ this happens in Medlab, is common, possibly 1000s of tests per week, millions worldwide. Known samples looking for antigens and antibodies in order to help make a diagnosis. When Miller's evidence comes to NZ it is accepted by the Courts without concern that he is not qualified as a forensic scientist, not licensed to do so and operates from a similarly unlicensed for forensic testing lab, furthermore he is prevented by Law to give forensic evidence in his own country such is the observance to safe custody chains there. The only man that will do the test isn't a scientist and yet the NZ Courts accept his evidence, not once but twice.

On the second occasion the President of the Court of Appeal dissents in a  Judgement to allow Miller's evidence and he gives evidence a 2nd time, a chance to fly an aeroplane for which he has neither a pilot's license of the expertise. He has no charts for the sky's in which he will fly but he at least knows that the Court supports all the short cuts which have allowed him the opportunity to give evidence on something of which he is neither an expert nor qualified, a man's life is in his hands and Justice for his wife and child rests with a person whose status as a witness in his own country is zero. The trap is set.

I don't think I need to go further at this point on details. The injustice of the Lundy case is already exhibited here. Our Courts have been complicit in another injustice, they have turned a blind eye to broken rules, forensic procedures and testing, failed to comprehend that a body sample, if genuine cannot be missing millions of its natural parts and yet somehow be treated as a whole. The Courts have not been able to distinguish that when the roasting tray was taken from the oven that the lamb leg, or beef cut is not present and are ready to dine on a roast without its main ingredients, no matter that the person who cooked the roast was blind and that the oven had no power - The Court is blind itself to the injustice here it enables. They don't cast their own safety aside, in fact it is certain they would not accept a charlatan testing cells from themselves or loved ones for antigens or antibodies from a sample that may have come from anywhere.

In the last year I've had the opportunity to meet an advocate for Mark Lundy, Geoff Levick. It was from his unpublished book 'Lundy The Missing Pieces' from where I have taken some of the information used here. I have also corresponded with Professor Michael Horowitz of Adelaide University, an expert in many fields including diabetes and gastric emptying who has stated by times of death of Christine and Amber that Lundy is innocent, also Professor Chris Halkides a biochemist. Both who have either followed or given evidence in the Lundy case, have scores of publish peer reviewed papers and who are at the top of their respective fields. All 3 agree that Miller's evidence is a travesty of justice, bereft of meaningful content with no place in a Court room. Who is right? Going by the surrounding facts attending Miller's evidence ignored by NZ Courts, the handling of the shirt sample, even the consideration given to it's testing by someone without the expertise or qualifications - its the 3 men, not just because they have demonstrated their understanding of what it was claimed Miller could do with his testing, but because they know. like all the certified forensic laboratories worldwide contact by Palmerston North police that if it were even a horse race the Miller horse would never have got past the track scrutineers, not only did Miller not have a horse to begin with, he didn't have a horse blanket or even a picture of one.

Important footnote.

Almost 2 years after Mark Lundy was retried, and nearly 2 decades since the deaths of Christine and Amber, NZ police continue to refuse to release of the complete file to ML, and in particular all those forensic laboratories, forensic testers and organisations, none of whom would test the samples, replies to requests by police for help. Without doubt in those 'secret files,' police won't release, is information likely to prove not only that ML is innocent but that our Courts were absolutely wrong to use untested 'science' in order to convict a man who had no other real evidence against him. How can ML hope to appeal when evidence helpful to him is hidden? Only with some honesty from the authorities, also by the Courts returning to planet earth and ordering that the files be disclosed - even if only for their own information to see how badly they got it wrong.

Silent victims in Watson?

It takes some consuming, it's an outright horror. Imagine yourself ringing police in an emergency, or in the event of responding to a police plea to members the public for support to find or report sightings when the young couple Ben Smart and Olivia Hope went missing, only to be ignored because it was claimed to have be sorted out. Even sure that you had sighted them, or photographed them or the ketch it is believed they were taken captive upon the Antares. That's where the following 3 part video takes a viewer, real life under the microscope, a vessel and people tracked across the sea by a formidable team of people with experience unable to be matched by NZ Police placed under restrictions by the officer in charge, the now retired Rob Pope.

If like me your geographical absorption of the Nelson and the sounds area is not strong then these videos take you to the ketch entering and departing waters and anchored out from the Furneaux Lodge in the early evening before the couple would go missing along with a man and the distinctive ketch. The sense for me was that I was seeing the possible abduction that was part of Ben and Olivia's disappearance in clear focus but could not do anything to help. If I got such a  feeling from the well contructed videos shorn of any emotion and very little speculation, such were the repetitive nature of the ketch sightings, then it's hard to imagine the effect on those original witnesses who never had their day in Court to tell their truth, and not one manufactured for them and the public at large.

What's more the ketch you would see was massive in size, around 50 feet long, twin masts and unmistakable because of a blue stripe running through brass portholes. A vessel that was a sight to behold, which would first draw attention because it was a beauty to embrace. It was only with later sightings when a couple were seen on the ketch still in the same waters that some witnesses expressed surprise or concern at the awkward way the couple sat in the stern of the ketch, how they never stood and appeared not to move their arms that the beauty of the ketch would have begun to look like a quivering nightmare, bold, but dark, emerging from the facile deceptive beauty.

The video, titled "The Mystery Ketch", early on shows the identikit picture of the mystery man someone with longish hair unlike the short hair style of Scott Watson now in prison for 2 decades after the ketch was allowed to slip away. The almost drone of the narrator, no voice inflections, no voice projections just dull with no measure of horror as he explains as the production shows a mug shot of one Mike Wallace, sex offender and longtime criminal, the striking resemblance between the identikit picture and Wallace, a man who crewed on boats and who was an experienced sailor.

The narrator has the name of the ketch, The Anatres, his team, Maritime Research Group NZ, tracked when it likely came into NZ waters and where it was seen heading toward Furneaux lodge and when it left. They knew of it's then recent sale for cash. They knew of it's temporary Kiwi skipper (whose name spelling was not clear to this listener) when it was in NZ waters, a friend of Wallace, both unsavoury types according to the investigators.

"The Mystery Ketch" is in 3 parts and whatever views one may hold on the Watson case the videos are a must see. 2 years of research went into the making of them. I have no idea how many individuals formed the Maritime Research Group NZ but their work is clearly thorough and challenging. It demands a Governmental response. Perhaps for the first time, and I say this not forgetting for a second Keith Hunter's well known research and work on the Watson, that the video achieves something unique it takes Scott Watson and his wee boat right out of the picture. It places what could have been Ben and Olivia on the high seas in troubling and surreal circumstances. It potentially places the couple in the company/control of gang members entering the Federal Hotel in the days after their disappearance with Olivia calling out to a friend to help her. It traces a kombi very likely linked to The Antares.

I've written about the boating community before, their inherent eye for detail of other vessels, their interest in all things nautical. They have been effectively shut out from the case, disregarded by police and not fully appreciated or known by Watson's defence. Yet "The Mystery Ketch" shows how reliable these witnesses are, how fine the detail of their reports are, how they are backed up with photos and a continuity of events. Not random sightings, but sightings in sequence of The Antares being seen.

For me, I doubted the inherent horror that the couple may have become victims of members of a possible crime group who kept them alive for some days, sometimes in public view. That stuck out as critical to me and I retain doubts about that. The type of doubt that could have influenced a Jury one way or the other. That is the point. These sightings weren't for police note books or record sheets, they were for the Jury. Though more than that they were for the peace of mind of at least 3 families forever changed, The Watson's, Hope's and Smart's. In a larger way they were for the idea of community, watching for one another on the 1 hand and the right to a fair trial and truth on the other.

Police have told the public that the mystery ketch does not exist. That may be correct, but if the public are told the ketch does not exist then they are due an explanation of a ketch people did see and did identify who they say was a couple on board who looked like the missing pair. A large part of the mystery Ketch theory can be easily proved or disproved by listening to the witnesses that saw it, a Jury could then decide on all the evidence not the evidence the police chose to present and which in many aspects has since fallen apart, but also the evidence police chose to ignore because 'they had their man' as they told many of the concerned witnesses.

Of course it not the job of police to decide who 'their man' is, that is the job of the Jury hearing all the relevant evidence including that which points to Watson's potential innocence. I mention here witnesses referred to in the videos, they took photos of what most likely was The Antares  supplied them to the police who lost them. Yes, lost them. If they weren't ignoring evidence they didn't like they were helpfully losing it, or hiding it from counsel and the public. There is a photo that survived and which the Maritime Research Group NZ were able to get some kind of copy of, they duly magnified this port quality reproduction of a photo of a small boat that was tied to a wharf with a woman sitting in the stern which well have been Olivia Hope after her disappearance.

While the war police have waged against Watson and his family a war has been waged also against honest and trustworthy Kiwis who did the right thing but were ignored. It's a little too easy just to suggest that was tough and police were doing their job. But in fact police were not doing their job, they were restrained from doing so by the orders of the Rob Pope who didn't want to know about any other possibilities than what he had decided. That is not fair or just in anyway. It's also a downright dangerous precedent where police do not respond to murder or abduction claims, the very least police needed to do was a complete and thorough investigation of the alibi that was being presented by 100s of people completely un-associated with the case apart from having the misfortune of being ignored when many thought they could be possibly helping save Olivia and Ben, or indeed had information as to what happened to them. Those people will not just have gotten over that, many of them will regret the helplessness which befell them, in some cases the outright lies which were spread against them for being enemies of the noble corruption 'cause.'

While the following link is not directed specifically to "The Mystery Ketch" scrolling down will find the 3 links in the right hand column. It is eye opening and disturbing on the one hand and on the other a major disappointment that the Justice system has been firmly arraigned for breaching the standards expected in a democracy with respect for the Law. Something must be done about this because it is fundamental to not only the rights of the Watsons, the Hopes and Smarts - but all New Zealanders, including that special group who answered a call for help but who were scorned and remained scorned in their disillusionment of being ignored in a most telling way. People who are not enemies of the police, undesirables or trouble makers but the very people that come to the rescue of others and do not turn away from evil.

I suggest any readers should send the links to their MPs along with a note of their feeling about this whatever they may be. Some will feel that this evidence should have been heard 20 years ago but must be heard now for the sake of a whole lot of people including you and I.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwLVo_lFzHA&t=1170s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAGdHJpSmGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJoW6qhHmn8

Gerald Hope 'unconvinced' by Scott Watson.

A North and South magazine article by Mike White in which he reports the meeting between Gerald Hope and the man imprisoned for killing his daughter Olivia and her friend Ben Smart, Scott Watson, is now released.

I hope to put some perspective on both the article and comments today by Gerald Hope that he was unconvinced by an 'elusive' Watson that he not convinced is innocent. First of all it is interesting to examine the possible motives of both men agreeing to the interview and what they may really have expected as an outcome. The interview was hazardous for Watson and his chances of parole, if he somehow convinced Hope that he was indeed innocent Hope had said he would back him in his claims of innocence. It's difficult on the basis of such ingredients that the outcome was going to be positive. One man is undoubtedly a grieving father, the other may or may not be innocent of the charges which have kept him prison for 2 decades. Realistically, with or without Hope's backing Watson has the Justice system sitting unfairly on his back whether he is backed by Gerald or not.

On the other hand whether Gerald decided he believed Watson or not, he was no further ahead - the mystery surrounding his daughter's disappearance is not solved, and hasn't been solved by Watson's imprisonment. I'm sure Gerald Hope understood that before he overturned the stone and spoke to Watson. As much as he may have wanted to be dispassionate, critical, the task appeared too great for any man who lost a daughter in such a terrible way. Having read the article and the Stuff news reports of Gerald's feelings about his chance to speak with Watson one thing is plain, he still doesn't know what happened to his daughter or indeed if Watson is guilty or innocent. But plenty was revealed anyway.

Those that read the article will understand perhaps for the first time, as it was for me, that Scott Watson is an intelligent man, that he is also justifiably bitter about his imprisonment and the circumstances which led to his convictions for murder. What followers of the case will have learnt is that Hope confirmed to Watson the assembly of the case against himself, the media manipulation by which police ensured they got their man, not necessarily the right man, but certainly the man they targeted in a very public way. Gerald Hope confirmed some of the manipulation by police including that of his older daughter Amelia, who over a period of time changed her witness statement to include the possibility that Watson was aboard a water taxi at the same time she was. This was proof of witness manipulation that Hope readily revealed - hinted at his own manipulation by police. Amelia Hope now joins a number of other witnesses in a catagory of those that were convinced that their evidence wasn't entirely accurate and accepted helpful suggestions that would get the bad bugger Watson inside. Most interestingly from Hope's admissions to this was his use of the concept of the ends justifying the means, he spoke of the trial being the most expensive of any to that time, his misgivings about the quality of the police work and his real disappointment that a mystery ketch was never ruled out or indeed ruled in which may have resulted at least in part of the mystery being solved. Gerald in his honesty told the public what many suspect about the Watson case, that essentially only 1 man was targeted and that therefore consequently it may never be known if the police in fact ever arrested the right man.

To a direct question from Watson, Hope revealed that it was police who raised with him a lot of information to convince him not of Watson's guilt,  but his likelihood of being guilty for reasons nothing to do with the murders of the missing couple. One of those, though how it could possibly be significant to deciding evidence or lack of evidence against Watson, was the unsubstantiated claim that Watson and his sister slept together. Watson, with some energy, wanted to know who had told Hope that story but Hope would not say although he generally agreed that it was all part of the landscape prevailing where evidence of guilt was sparse. In the subtext Hope was perhaps inadvertently revealing his deepest thoughts and misgivings - his doubt about Watson's guilt. That doubt of course folks is the reasonable doubt a Jury must consider, and one thing the interview revealed that since the trial there are more reasons to add to that doubt on critical evidence the Jury never got to here. At this juncture 2 points cross, Hope was inadvertently perhaps acknowledging the weaknesses in the case, and to my mind why it still remains a travesty that Watson's petition for Exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy was turned down, a result which since has never been appealed by Watson through Judicial Review.

Some questions from Hope to Watson perhaps showed the strain that Hope has endured all the years since losing his youngest child.

GH "Did you as some suggested, put all your clothes into a plastic bag and swim ashore?
SW "Seriously?"
GH "I'm not serious but I am asking you."
SW "No."

To be fair nobody would have expected a sudden confession of this type from Watson, again underlying the elements of futility expected from this meeting. One cannot help but think that Gerald knew that Watson certainly was not, about admitting, something he has denied for 2 decades. Watson, at least in part, knew he had the chance to get some information he needed, or at least have it confirmed that Hope, in his position, as a leading figure in the search for his daughter and Ben, was also a leading figure in spreading some of the myths arisen in this case. Though Hope did admit frankly anyway, that the missing ketch, the recanted witness testimony, the discovery of the 2 critical hairs from Olivia's genetic line in the forensic lab where a blanket from Watson's boat was being examined, was only part of his disquiet about whether or not police had got the right man. Disquiet which at the very least remains. It's clear by his own statements that Gerald Hope does not know if Watson is guilty or not and that it was unlikely that the meeting would have ever resulted in that.

In the paper Hope says that Watson's responses to some of his questions were rehearsed and absolutely silent on the more circumstantial elements of the prosecution case such as the disposal of the bodies in a sleeping bag. He said he was mute, unemotional, disconnected without considering that Watson was hardly likely to animated in rejecting assertions that he had rejected for 2 decades. It seems Gerald could not accept that the muteness and lack of emotion may have been from offence at being asked such questions when he was being truthful, or that Watson was simply bewildered by them or the lack of Gerald being able to appreciate he didn't know. It also appears that Gerald could not discern that events going over perhaps millions of times in the mind of Watson in the last 20 years would be in a monotone, almost a resigned defeat, that the truth of his innocence is obvious. Gerald I think fell into what would be a ready mistake, that Watson would know the answers to things he couldn't possibly know if he was innocent, and that not having those answers certainly did not mean guilt.

All of this it now appears turns on 'art work' taken from Watson's cell while on remand which Hope somehow getting a copy from police - no doubt to convince of Watson's guilt. Hope is quoted as saying that looking at the drawings he sees (in Watson) a disturbed person, even undertones of death and retribution. I think that more than anything else those comments reveal the position he has held for 20 years, that he doesn't know if Watson is guilty but that his interpretation of the drawings (which certainly are bleak and dark - like other art drawn before and since by 1000s of others) have convinced Gerald that Watson is disturbed and evil. Exactly what police could have anticipated when giving a copy to Gerald.

It's a little surprising on that point that Gerald who acknowledged the manipulation by police (and himself) of the media and the pubic at the time of the arrest and trials, holds such aloft as reasons for being convinced not by hard evidence, not by the finding of the mystery yacht or a credible explanation that it never existed, by the disclosure that the hairs found in the lab that were or were not those of his daughter, that identifications were no longer in question, that evidence had not been recanted, that it was accepted that evidence had been changed by witnesses in response to pressure or convincing by police and so on - had it's answer in a drawing stolen taken from a prison cell.

Gerald Hope plainly didn't get what he imagined he might, but which he no doubt realised would not be forthcoming anyway. Those with doubts about this case got no further ahead though they now have the admission from someone very close and involved that there was indeed witness and evidence manipulation by the police in this case - the signature of all recent NZ Miscarriages of Justice.

Thanks to Gerald Hope for that concession of the truth from the other side.