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.
