True Crime New Zealand (NZ)

Victor Spencer first signed up to fight on th e 16th of April 1915 . Still only 18 years and 5 months old, he lied about his age, saying he was born two years earlier so he would meet the minimum age of 20 . Private Victor Spencer set sail to Suez, Egypt with the 1st Battalion Otago regiment. After landing in Egypt, the battalion was quickly sent off to Gallipoli, Turkey in early November 1915 , V...

CHRISTCHURCH, CANTERBURY. POLICE "Is there any way that, is there any way... Is there any way we could change your mind on what you’re doing? " SHAYNE "Nah, I’ve made my ... I’ve made my mind up, I’ve had enough. " POLICE "So there’s ... so there’s no ... there’s no coming back. Are you saying there’s no coming back? " SHAYNE "Nah. " POLICE "So there’s nothing that you want to live for? " SHAYNE "...

Friends, suicide and depression are destressing topics. However, it is also for some; a bleak reality. Within our own lives, in the past couple of weeks, we’ve known of two people who took their own lives.  As you may be aware, NZ has one of the highest rates for sucide in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD) , in particular youth suicide.  For these reasons...

NAPIER, HAWKE'S BAY. The tiny township of Hampden is found approximately 62km southwest of Hastings in the Hawke’s Bay region. Settled in 1863 , the town was an industrial town, primarily sawmilling and farming. In 1900 , the town changed its name to Tikokino due to there already being a location called Hampden in the South Island . With a population of less than a thousand, Tikokino has a mostly...

INVERCARGILL, SOUTHLAND. Wednesday, 8th of April 1908. 10.45am. Archibald McLean , a city missionary, left his house on Crinan Street in Invercargill , Southland to start the day. His eyes wandered toward his neighbours property, the Baxters . Something caught his interest, the Baxter property, occupied by husband and wife James and Elizabeth Baxter and their five children, was eerily quiet. Somet...

ARAMOANA, OTAGO. By 8pm on the 13th of November 1990 , Police were informed that there was an active shooting situation in Aramoana . The first to respond to the calls was Sergeant Stewart Guthrie of the Port Chalmers Police Station , who was the only officer on duty that day. As Stewart sped out to Aramoana he came across another officer, he collected Constable Russell Anderson before continuing...

ARAMOANA, OTAGO. 1990 was a special year for the citizens of New Zealand. It was Aotearoa’s sesquicentenary, NZ’s 150th year and local governments had put on events and activities to celebrate the occasion. By the 13th of November 1990 , the Sesqui celebrations were wrapping up and many of the Aramoana residents were in the nearby town of Port Chalmers enjoying what remained of the Sesqui. Those w...

ARAMOANA, OTAGO. Located 27km north of Dunedin , tucked away at the mouth of the Otago Harbour in the South Island of New Zealand , you will find the small seaside village of Aramoana . The village which translates to ‘pathway to the sea’ is made up of approximately 260 residents who affectionately refer to it as ‘The Spit’ . The village is truly remote with no street lights, shops, hotels or a po...

WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. In the decades subsequent to 1920 , Wanganui did much growing. The town of Wanganui was officially upgraded to a city in 1924 . Many of Wanganui’s most well known monuments were erected during this time, including the Durie Hill War Memorial Tower in 1926 , the Whanganui Regional Museum in 1928 and the famous War Memorial Hall in 1960 . By the early 1980s, the city of Wanganui...

WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. On the 15th of May 1920, Wanganui citizens were shocked by a crime that involved their elected Mayor. The crime was reported on later in the New Zealand Truth newspaper, “The evidence which was adduced makes the case one of the most sensational in the annals of the New Zealand courts. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a more extraordinary sequence of happenings. Charles Mack...

WHANGANUI, MANAWATU. On the 27th of February 1883 something was found on the beach near the Whanganui river mouth that wasn’t the usual river byproducts. A telegraph linesperson, Arthur Fitchett was working along the beach when he discovered something that would shock and horrify the small township -- the deceased corpse of a four-year-old girl.  The story that unfolded became one of the dark...

PIHA, AUCKLAND. In 1939 Piha was in the news for something completely unrelated to its beach; it was in the headlines for a house fire claiming the life of one person. As the events unfolded, more information rose to the surface and ultimately the story of the ‘Piha Fire’ of 1939 became one of the most curious crimes in the archives of NZ’s history. This is the tale of Gordon McKay and The Duplici...

RAURIMU, MANAWATU. Saturday the 8th of February 1997. 9.05am. Stephen Anderson walks into the kitchen holding a 12 gauge sawn-off shotgun and carrying a shotgun cartridge in his mouth. His father Neville immediately sprang from his seat and approached the gunman “What are you doing… Give it to me Stephen” . Neville grabbed hold of the barrel of the shotgun , attempting to wrestle it out of his son...

In early 1916 , the 4th Battalion of the NZ Rifle Brigade took part in a parade down Queen Street, Auckland before they embarked overseas to Egypt to fight in World War I . ‘A’ company marched down the street waving to the cheering crowd, they were joined by their mascot, an American bulldog called Caesar .  Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transc...

LOWER HUTT. WELLINGTON. Saturday. 13th of April 2002. 11.20am. Donna Hall gathered her two nieces, Manumea and Erena Durie to take a morning stroll along the Hutt River with ‘baby Kahu’ and the family dog. The fivesome left their house and wandered through the suburbs of Woburn . The two nieces pushed Kahu in the pushchair a few metres ahead of Donna who walked the dog behind. Eventually the quint...

In 1915, the area between Featherston and the Tauherenikau River was acquired by the Ministry of Defence. The area was chosen as the site to train the New Zealand soldiers heading to Europe to serve in World War I. Development began on the site with over 1,000 workmen constructing what would become NZ’s largest military training camp; Featherston Military Camp. Visit  www.truecrimenz.com &#16...

PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU.   Four months into his sentence, in August of 2002 , Mark Lundy took his case to the Court of Appeal based on the belief that he was convicted on “bad science” .  Upon upholding the conviction, the Court added an additional three years to Mark’s non-parole period; bringing the total non-parole term to 20 years . The reason for the increase was due to the Court of Appeal...

PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU. 30th of August 2000. 11.59am . Mark Lundy took a call from a client who wanted to place an order; Mark emotionally communicated through tears that he couldn’t right now as he was on his way home becaus e “something happened to his wife and child”. Mark arrived home to ‘Palmy’ about an hour and 16 minutes later at 1.15pm , police stopped Mark Lundy at the cordon about a...

PALMERSTON NORTH. MANAWATU. 30th of August 2000. 9.30am. Christine’s brother James Weggery arrived at 30 Karamea Crescent in the suburb of Kelvin Grove in Palmerston North . James knew Christine’s routine well, he knew she would be home after taking her 7-year-old daughter Amber to school. Although, James had been having difficulty getting Christine on the phone; he decided to just head over to he...

REPOROA. WAIKATO. 30th of November 1998. Highschool sweethearts and husband and wife, Henk and Beverly Bouma are alone in their farmhouse property located on Plateau Road in Reporoa , a small rural community 40km outside of Rotorua . The couple's three children were not home, their son 22-year-old Russell was working on another farm; their two daughters, 17-year-old Sandra and 15-year-old Cherie w...

On the 17th of December 1642. Abel and his crew saw land in the far distance; it was Te Tai Poutini -- the west coast of the South Island of NZ. As the Dutch mariner approached the unknown land, he saw a succession of fires burning upon the coastline.  The days that followed saw the first meeting of European and Maori people. It was not a peaceful encounter.

DUNEDIN. OTAGO. The day after stabbing 22 year old Sophie Elliott to death, the 10th of January 2008 , Clayton Weatherston appeared in court in Dunedin -- he pled not guilty to the charge of murder. This began long and lengthy court proceedings. Visit www.truecrimenz.com for additional information on this case. Including a transcript of this episode, with supporting pictures, sources, and credits....

EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on new equipment and we did not get an ideal recording. We learnt a lot of lessons though. We hope the quality isn't too distracting from the information for all you audiophiles out there. Much love, TCNZ. DUNEDIN. OTAGO. “I then heard the door being unlocked so I opened it and stepped into a small bedroom. In front of me, to my left, was the body of a youn...

AUCKLAND CITY. AUCKLAND. 19th of October 1996 . 9.40am. Sister Janet Swindle , a nun, was walking her dog along Karangahape Road . Sister Swindle and her canine companion entered Pigeon Park , an area of the Symonds Street Cemetery . Among the many corpses laid peacefully to rest, to her horror, Sister Swindle discovered one unpeaceful and unburied; the mutilated corpse of Natacha Hogan. Visit www...

Tēnā koutou friends, Jessica here, with a quick update on some new things happening around our way. With the completion of the Rainbow Warrior story, that was our 12th case and 21st episode. Which was kind of like a season for us. We have a couple of announcements to make regarding the future of True Crime NZ. Please follow our social media pages to keep updated about any updates. Facebook: https:...