Murder on the Blade? : a journalist's view

In New Zealand in 1999 a man was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 17 years after being convicted of a double murder. Eighteen months earlier two young people had disapeared from a New Year's party at a yachting resort in the scenic Marlborough Sounds. The bodies of the two were never found. The case against the accused man was that he killed them on his small yacht and then disposed of the bodies in the deep waters of Cook Straight. It was New Zealand's hightest profile murder case of the late 20th century and resulted in a six month police investigation followed by a three month trial. But when viewed dispassionately the evidence excludes the man who was convicted. This film methodically annihilates the police and prosecution case. In doing so it raises questions about the integrity of the New Zealand Judicial system from the police to the Court of Appeal that have never been so openly raised before. The film was originally commissioned by the public television system as a 70 minute ´standard documentary´. It was eventually broadcast on 7 November 2003 at 90 minutes. To avoid injunctionsa and legal attack it was not shown by the broadcaster to the pres prior to broadcast and was presented as the point of view of its maker. This is the first time and only time a filmmaker's personal view on such an issue hs ever played on New Zealand television.