Crimes NZ

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.

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.

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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