A Moment In Crime

March 30 marks the 20th anniversary of Waikato mother-of-three Sara Niethe's disappearance.

Her body has never been found despite her boyfriend Mark Pakenham admitting he killed her.

Pakenham was charged with her murder in 2011 but before his case went to trial he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

He has always refused to tell police where Niethe’s body is, but admitted he injected Niethe with methamphetamine on March 30, 2003, causing her death.

Twenty years on from Sara's death her children - now all adults with their own families -have commissioned a new search and hope that finally, they can find the answers and evidence they have always longed for. 

If you can help find Sara or have any information about her death email [email protected] or private investigator Bruce Currie [email protected]

You can also contact the police on non-emergency phone number 105 or the anonymous crime reporting line Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

For more on Sara's case click on the links below:

Cold-case killing: Shock guilty plea

Sara Niethe killer's long history of drugs, threats

Cold-case killer Mark Pakenham released on parole

Sara Niethe cold case: New search under way for body of Waikato mum killed with a ‘shot of meth’

FAMILY VIOLENCE - DO YOU NEED HELP?

If you're in danger now:

• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people.
• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay

Where to go for help or more information:

• Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz

CREDITS:

A Moment In Crime is an NZME podcast written and hosted by Anna Leask, senior crime and justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald. 

The podcast is produced by myself, iHeart radio podcast producer James Irwin and NZ Herald podcast production manager Ethan Sills.

Episodes of a Moment In Crime are released monthly on nzherald.co.nz, iheart radio and all your usual podcast apps.  

And if you love this podcast, you might enjoy another series I wrote and produced - Chasing Ghosts - which focuses on the disappearance of Southland toddler Amber-Lee Cruickshank.

If you have a crime or case you’d like me to consider covering, email [email protected]  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of murder and the disposal of a body and is suitable for a mature audience only. 

In 2010 Auckland woman Carmen Thomas was reported missing by her ex-partner Brad Callaghan. He told police she had failed to pick up their little boy as per their shared custody arrangement and he was worried. Police launched an investigation but there was no sign of Carmen. Three months later Callaghan was arrested and the brutal and macabre details of Carmen's murder and his attempts to avoid being caught came to light. The case is one of New Zealand's most high-profile murder investigations and in this episode of A Moment In Crime senior journalist Anna Leask goes back through the timeline of tragedy. 

This episode includes short extracts from the television show Forensics - a prime-time documentary ‘crime’ series that aired in New Zealand in 2017. The show was produced by South Pacific Pictures.

To read more about Carmen Thomas, click on the links to stories published in the NZ Herald, Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday below.

If there is a case you want to hear about on A Moment In Crime, please email host and producer Anna Leask [email protected] 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/cctv-footage-clue-in-carmen-inquiry/E7DU36D5GJHTLU2SJOYLFQR5VE/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/carmen-thomas-murder-brad-callaghan-hid-his-dark-secret-behind-sinister-mask-of-deception/ST6ZX3NHVSMKWNKDJUFWGT5K7E/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/revealed-how-science-caught-carmen-thomas-killer/E5S5N2Y2VS5BHLEH4U3MOYZAGQ/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parenting-the-parentless-raising-the-children-of-family-violence-murders-in-new-zealand/FEPWLQBXEBDENEK65VJCQODXYA/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police figures show between mid-2012 and 2022, about 280 people were convicted of murder in Aotearoa.

Of those, 9.5 per cent of offenders - 26 in total - were women.A further 47 women were convicted of manslaughter, 27 per cent of the 271 total offenders in that category.

n the latest episode of A Moment In Crime senior crime and justice reporter Anna Leask looks back at some of New Zealand’s most shocking cases of murder, manslaughter and even some mercy killings carried out by women.

This episode of A Moment In Crime references violence towards a child domestic violence - if you need help, or have concerns about someone else, please scroll down for a list of crisis and support agencies.

READ MORE: click here for Anna Leask's coverage on women who kill

DO YOU NEED HELP?

Child abuse

If you are worried about a child or have information about any young person being abused, please contact the police.

Information can be passed on to your local police or anonymously through the Crimestoppers reporting line on 0800 555 111.

If you’re worried about a child you are urged to contact Oranga Tamariki immediately on 0508 326 459; or email [email protected].

If the child or young person is in immediate danger, call police on 111.

Family violence

If you’re in danger now:

• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people.
• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don’t stop to get anything else.

If you are being abused, remember it’s not your fault. Violence is never okay.

Where to go for help or more information:

• Shine, free national helpline available 24/7 - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women’s Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It’s Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For nearly eight years Auckland woman Pakeeza Yusuf and her 3-yeard-old daughter, Juwairiyah “Jojo” Kalim, lay covered by stone and mud on Auckland’s North Shore.

They were murdered as they slept in late 2006 but for many years nobody knew about their grisly fate. A decade later in 2016, Kamal Gyanendra Reddy was found guilty of their murder by a jury.

A six-month undercover police operation drew a confession from him on October 14, 2014, where he admitted to strangling Pakeeza with the cord of an electric iron, and smothering Jojo to cover up his ghastly offending.

This episode of A Moment In Crime references violence towards a child domestic violence - if you need help, or have concerns about someone else, please scroll down for a list of crisis and support agencies.

READ MORE:

Bodies-under-the-bridge murders: Kamal Reddy found guilty

Bodies-under-the-bridge murders: Kamal Reddy jailed for at least 21 years

Undercover police operation to catch double murderer Kamal Reddy revealed

WHERE TO GET HELP?

Child abuse:

If you are worried about a child or have information about about any young person being abused, please contact the police.

Information can be passed on to your local police - click here for a list of stations and contact details - or anonymously through the Crimestoppers reporting line on 0800 555 111.

If you’re worried about a child you are urged to contact Oranga Tamariki immediately on 0508 326 459; or email [email protected].

If the child or young person is in immediate danger, call police on 111.

Family violence:

If you’re in danger now phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.

Where to go for help or more information:

• Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women’s Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz\
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It’s Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In September 2008 New Zealanders were shocked by the killing of a man who stepped in to help a woman in danger in central Auckland.

Austin Hemmings, 44, was fatally stabbed when he intervened in a confrontation as he left work. 

The good Samaritan was simply trying to help a woman who was in clear distress and who had called out for help after a man confronted her and threatened her. 

Pauesi Leofa Brown stabbed Hemmings in the chest and the father-of-three died soon after.

Brown was later sentenced to life in prison for Hemmings' murder. 

Today in Herald podcast A Moment In Crime host and journalist Anna Leask looks back at the case and how it impacted both Hemmings' family and the woman he saved - paying the ultimate price with his own life. 

A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by senior journalist Anna Leask - who has been covering crime and justice for NZME since 2005.

Leask has also reported on most of the major incidents and events in New Zealand during that period including the Christchurch quakes, Pike River mine disaster, March 15 terror attack and the White Island eruption.

"Each month I'll take you inside some of our most infamous incidents, notorious offenders and behind the scenes of high-profile trials and events to show you what's really happening in your backyard," she said.

"Heroes and villains battle for justice to be done, and it seems no matter how horrifying the story, we always want to know more."

A Moment In Crime is produced by Leask, iHeart radio podcast producer Adam Pomana, and NZ Herald podcast production manager Ethan Sills.

Episodes of a Moment In Crime are usually released monthly.

If there is a case you would like to hear about on A Moment In Crime, email [email protected]

READ MORE ON THE AUSTIN HEMMINGS CASE

Hemmings family 'torn to shreds'

Hemmings' murderer jailed for at least 16 years

Hemmings' murderer had killed before

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch caregiver Valerie May Heaney, 64, was found dead in the hallway of her Bromley home on April 4 2022. 

Initially, police said her death was unexplained but after a post-mortem examination, it became clear something violent and horrific had happened to Val. 

Elliot Ajay Prakash, 43, was later charged with her murder.

He was a boarder at Heaney's home and the pair were sometimes lovers.

In this episode of A Moment In Crime I'll tell you why - and how - Prakash killed Val, and what he told police.

This episode is about domestic violence and may be upsetting for some people. 

READ MORE ON THIS CASE:

Val Heaney murder: Man who battered landlord with hockey stick jailed for life, previous violence revealed

Family violence - do you need help?

If you're in danger now:

• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people.
• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay

Where to go for help or more information:

• Shine, free national helpline - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Phillip John Smith left a Waikato prison on approved temporary leave in 2014 no one suspected that within days he would be leading authorities on an international man hunt.

Smith, also known as Phillip John Traynor, was meant to spend his time outside the wire at an address in Auckland with a sponsor.

The leave was part of a plan to reintegrate the convicted killer and sex offender back into the community.

But instead of going to the address in Auckland he made his way to the airport and boarded a plane to South America.

Smith's plan was to never return to New Zealand. 

However a chance sighting lead authorities right to him at a backpackers in Brazil.

Smith  was jailed for life for murdering the father of a young boy he'd been convicted of sexually abusing.

So how did he get a passport?

How did he get past border authorities?

And how was he captured in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world?

Herald podcast A Moment In Crime goes back to Smith's escape and explains just how police tracked him down and hauled him back to New Zealand. 

READ MORE HERE:

Phillip Smith's long history of terrifying and abusive behaviour

Great Escape: How a murderer almost got away

SEXUAL HARM - DO YOU NEED HELP?

If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.​

If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone contact the Safe to Talk confidential crisis helpline on: 

Text 4334 and they will respond 

Email [email protected]

Visit https://safetotalk.nz/contact-us/ for an online chat 

Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.

If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1998 murder of the Ashburton schoolgirl remains one of New Zealand's most high-profile cold cases.

Kirsty disappeared on December 31, 1998, while walking the family dog Abby on the banks of the Ashburton River.

The day after Kirsty went missing, the family's dog Abby was found tied to a tree near the river, and the teen's underwear was nearby.

Her body was found two weeks later, hidden in dense scrub almost 50km away. 

To date, no one has been arrested for her murder and police recently announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of her killer - or killers.

DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE KIRSTY BENTLEY CASE? 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police via their non-emergency phone number 105 and reference Operation Kirsty. Alternatively, you can call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

READ MORE ON THIS CASE IN THE HERALD:

Kirsty Bentley murder: Police offer $100,000 reward in Ashburton cold case

Kirsty Bentley cold case: Police focus on stranger abduction lead

Kirsty Bentley murder cold case: Killer may have already been spoken to by police

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2013 Auckland couple Glenys Stanton and Trevor Waite were gunned down in bed together at his home in Opaheke south of the city. 

Their killer was John Mowatt, an ex of Stanton who spiralled out of control when she ended their relationship.

Mowatt killed himself at Woodhill Forest north of Auckland days after the double murder.

The crime, later dubbed 'the bedroom murders' shocked the country.

If there is a case you want to hear more about email [email protected]

READ MORE ON THE CASE HERE:

The Bedroom Murders: 29 shots, 3 people dead. Why?

Bedroom murders: Tale of love and death

DO YOU NEED HELP?

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

For counselling and support:

Lifeline: http://www.lifeline.co.nz, call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP)

Suicide Crisis Helpline: www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline, or call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

For more information and support, talk to your local doctor, hauora, community mental health team, or counselling service.

The Mental Health Foundation has more helplines and service contacts - click here for information

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In October 1985 Arthur Easton was murdered in his Papakura family home.

Easton and his two teenage sons were attacked by a bayonet-wielding home invader.

The 52-year-old postal worker was stabbed in his liver during the frenzied attack and died of blood loss after emergency services arrived on the scene.

Alan Hall was convicted of murder in 1986 and spent 19 years in prison for the crime.

However Hall was not the person who killed Easton.

He maintained his innocence for almost four decades and in 2022 the Supreme Court finally quashed his conviction for murder.

The Crown accepted earlier this year in a submission to the Court that key evidence leading to the identity of the true attacker was "materially" altered, leading to a miscarriage of justice.

Today Herald senior journalist Anna Leask revisits the murder of Arthur Easton and the journey to justice for Alan Hall. 

This episode of A Moment In Crime is a bonus episode.

While our usual monthly episodes look at cases that have gripped New Zealand's interest over the years, there are plenty of cases before the courts that I'm covering right now that warrant a deeper look.

From complex murder trials to the cases destined for infamy, these bonus episodes will show you what's really happening in your backyard - right now.

For more on the case visit:

Alan Hall: Murder conviction set to be quashed after decades, Crown acknowledges miscarriage of justice

Alan Hall's murder conviction officially quashed, compensation claim on the cards

Solicitor-General admits Alan Hall case 'significant miscarriage of justice', opens investigation into Crown conduct

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.