284:, led to doubts that he was involved. On the basis that the murderer might have used a legitimately held gun, police collected and test fired sixty-four registered .22 firearms, 3% of the total recorded as held in the Pukekawa area. A forensic report on 19 August stated that, of the sixty-four, neither Thomas' rifle nor one owned by the Eyre family could be eliminated as the possible murder weapon, but there was insufficient evidence pointing to one or the other. Although police suggested to Thomas during an interview that his rifle was used to kill the Crewes, the gun was returned to him on 8 September. On 27 October, the garden at the Crewe house was searched for a third time and a spent cartridge case was found, apparently still lying where the murderer had left it. The case carried marks which showed that it had been ejected from Thomas' rifle. In November, Thomas was arrested and charged.
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knew, was not the woman whom he saw. The prosecution said that the motive for the murders was that Thomas had been obsessed with
Jeannette, an accusation for which they provided very little evidence. A witness who did give testimony supporting the prosecution's contention that Jeannette had been pestered by Thomas was Demler; he was cross-examined about why he had not mentioned such obviously relevant information before the court had begun sitting. Thomas was found guilty of the murders in a 1971 trial, but the conviction was overturned on
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fabricated by detectives, but did not appear to accept that they could have been on the wrong track; the review implied that the Crewes' daughter had not ingested any fluids between 17 and 22 June, and said a witness had been mistaken in thinking he had seen a woman on the farm during that period. The review did however rule out Demler having been the killer. Rochelle Crewe expressed satisfaction that a police review of evidence had cleared her deceased grandfather of involvement in the murders. The case remains unsolved.
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that she had not ingested fluids for at most 48 hours before she was found. A witness later reported that he had seen a woman unknown to him on the property on 19 June. Demler was the leading suspect due to his propinquity and failure to raise the alarm until prompted, apparent guilty knowledge that
Rochelle did not require immediate medical attention, blood of Jeannette's type on his car seat, and a scratch on his neck. Police were also told that Demler probably had access to an unregistered
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Despite his wife and cousin giving him a strong alibi for 17 June, Thomas was sent for trial on a charge of murdering the Crewes. The prosecution suggested Thomas's wife, Vivien, had been the woman seen at the Crewes' house, although she was not charged. The witness was certain Vivien Thomas, whom he
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No medical opinion that an infant could survive without fluids for five days is supported by any verified case of such an occurrence. Although
Rochelle had tissue loss, suggesting she had eaten little or nothing between 17 and 22 June, the degree to which she retained water during treatment indicated
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In 2014 an official police review of the investigation into the homicides, at a cost of $ 400,000 to New
Zealand taxpayers, said that evidence available in the murder of the Crewes was insufficient for any new prosecution. The review acknowledged that a key prosecution exhibit in the trials had been
239:
weapon. Demler's behaviour continued to raise suspicion; during police searches of the countryside for the Crewes, he shadowed on horseback without helping, and presciently suggested they would be found in water. However, the evidence against Demler was entirely circumstantial and he strongly denied
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from their bloodstained farmhouse on 22 June 1970 by Demler (died 4 November 1992), who had been asked to look in on them by an alarmed neighbour because they had not answered the telephone for days. The Crewes' 18-month-old daughter
Rochelle was distraught in her cot. Demler left her alone while he
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was ordered to review the wrongful conviction of Thomas and reported to the
Governor-General in November 1980. The Commissioners found that the spent cartridge case from Thomas's gun, Exhibit 350, had not been left by the murderer, but had been created weeks later by police using his impounded gun
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attacks, including one in which clothes were set on fire in a bedroom. At the time of her death, Jeannette was about to receive her mother's half-share in the Demler farm, which adjoined that of the Crewes. The bequest to
Jeannette had come about after Jeannette's sister had been cut from their
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Both victims had been shot to death with a .22 calibre firearm; Jeannette had broken facial bones from being struck with a blunt instrument. Demler had been considered the main suspect, but the brutality of the assault on
Jeannette, and the lead investigator's belief that she had been
314:. Campaigners said forensic work by Dr Jim Sprott had shown that the cartridge case had been planted at the scene and that its method of construction identified it as being from a batch that could not have contained the number 8 bullets recovered from the victims. Following
44:
218:, and Demler had removed Jeannette as a beneficiary of his own will in retaliation although she had no role in the original matter. Jeannette's mother had then re-written her will to bequeath to Jeannette the half-share in Demler's farm that he lived on.
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set up to investigate the miscarriage of justice found that a detective had fabricated evidence and placed it at the scene of the crime. No person was ever charged with planting the evidence, and the murders remain unsolved.
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never laid charges against any officer involved in the investigation and prosecution of Thomas. Johnston died in 1978. Hutton died in 2013. The case was made into the docu-drama feature film
364:, and found that the prosecution of Thomas for the murders had been unjustified. Despite the Commission describing the conduct of Hutton and Johnston as an "unspeakable outrage", the
759:"Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Circumstances of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe, 1980"
727:"Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Circumstances of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe, 1980"
695:"Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Circumstances of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe, 1980"
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in 1962, and had been forced to sell a half share in his farm to his wife in order to meet the liability. Jeannette married her husband, David Harvey Crewe (known as Harvey), in
587:"Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Circumstances of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe 1980"
663:
Report of the Royal
Commission to Inquire into the Circumstances of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe, 1980
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went on a farm errand. The Crewes had last been seen on 17 June, and milk, bread, and newspaper deliveries on the morning of 18 June had not been collected from the letterbox.
292:. He was tried again in 1973 and convicted. Supporters of Thomas started a campaign to bring to public attention that the key evidence against him had serious anomalies.
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17 June 1970) were a New
Zealand farming couple who were shot to death in their home on or about 17 June 1970. The murders led to the wrongful conviction and subsequent
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Photograph of the grave of Harvey and Jeannette Crewe, Tuakau Cemetery, Waikato, New Zealand. October 2013. Note Jeannette's name is misspelt as Jeanette.
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Report urging Police to reopen the case in 2006 Based on Chris Birt's investigation into the identity of the unknown woman.
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The Case Of The Missing Bloodstain : Inside an incompetent and corrupt police inquiry: the truth of the Crewe murders
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2001: The Final Chapter: If Arthur Allan Thomas didn't Kill Jeanette and Harvey Crewe - Who Did? By Chris Birt. Penguin.
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1972: Bitter Hill: Arthur Thomas – the case for a retrial, by Terry Bell. Auckland Avante-Garde Publishing.
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for one of the arson incidents as he had been attending dinner with the Crewes when a fire was discovered.
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and her husband's body was retrieved upriver on 16 September. A car axle linked to a neighbouring farmer,
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1976: A.B.C. of Injustice, by Jim Sprott and Pat Booth, Wellington. Arthur Thomas Retrial Committee.
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any knowledge of what had happened to his daughter and her husband. He was also said to have an
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617:"Forensic History: Crimes, Frauds, and Scandals" by Professor Elizabeth A Murray
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2012: The Case of the Missing Bloodstain, by Keith Hunter. Hunter Productions.
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855:
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2010: Arthur Allan Thomas: The Inside Story: Crewe Murders: New Evidence, by
205:. Jeannette was afraid to be in the house without her husband after bizarre
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950,000 compensation for his time in jail and loss of the use of his farm.
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In 1970, the Crewes and their 18-month-old daughter lived on their farm at
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2023: The Crewe Murders: Inside New Zealand’s most infamous cold case, by
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Justice Denied: Extraordinary miscarriages of justice, James Morton 2015
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2012: All The Commissioner's Men, by Chris Birt. Stentorian Publishing
336:. Thomas was released after serving nine years in prison. He was paid
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Jeannette Crewe's father, Lenard M. Demler, was fined ÂŁ10,000 for
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1976: Quash the Verdicts – The Thomas Affair, by Earl Bailey.
310:, was largely responsible for getting Thomas released with a
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at the Crewe farmhouse. The Commission's report implicated
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1971: The Crewe Murders, by Evan Swain, Wilson and Horton.
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Harvey and Jeannette Crewe, pictured at their 1966 wedding
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Jeannette's body was found on 16 August, wrapped in a
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226:Harvey (28), and Jeannette (30), were found to be
1062:Interview with Investigative journalist Pat Booth
904:Bitter Hill: Arthur Thomas—the case for a retrial
844:"Rochelle Crewe: Report clears my family's name"
640:"Crewe murders: Police admit cartridge planted"
628:New evidence claims in Crewe case 2 Aug, 2014
517:Beyond Reasonable doubt?, (2014) David Yallop
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169:of another farmer who lived in the district,
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1008:. Auckland: Howling At The Moon Publishing.
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1006:Arthur Allan Thomas: The Inside Story
296:Campaign, pardon and Royal Commission
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1027:. Auckland: Hunter Productions Ltd.
922:Quash the Verdicts—The Thomas Affair
906:. Auckland: Avante-Garde Publishing.
1122:Missing person cases in New Zealand
469:List of solved missing person cases
1064:– 40 years since the Crewe Murders
915:. Wellington: South Pacific Press.
413:1978: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? By
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1102:Deaths by firearm in New Zealand
1127:Unsolved murders in New Zealand
1117:June 1970 events in New Zealand
1004:Wishart, Ian (September 2010).
943:Sprott, Jim; Pat Booth (1976).
427:Howling at the Moon Publishing.
259:bound with copper wire, in the
842:Savage, Jared (30 July 2014).
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669:, p. 120, archived from
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1049:Article by Pat Booth in the
1023:Hunter, Keith (April 2012).
1097:1970 murders in New Zealand
642:. stuff.co.nz. 30 July 2014
345:Royal Commission of Inquiry
300:A campaign, led in part by
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1092:1970s missing person cases
400:1975: Trial By Ambush, by
140:Victims of unsolved murder
114:16 September 1970 (Harvey)
112:16 August 1970 (Jeannette)
104:.22 calibre gunshot wounds
36:Harvey and Jeannette Crewe
27:1970 crimes in New Zealand
966:Yallop, David A. (1978).
329:on the recommendation of
322:, Thomas was pardoned by
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18:Harvey and Jeanette Crewe
1072:The Investigator Special
1068:'Who Killed the Crewes?'
970:. Hodder and Stoughton.
474:List of unsolved murders
417:. Hodder & Stoughton
318:'s book about the case,
275:Investigation and trials
1107:Formerly missing people
968:Beyond Reasonable Doubt
446:Massey University Press
371:Beyond Reasonable Doubt
320:Beyond Reasonable Doubt
69:Jeannette Lenore Demler
404:. South Pacific Press.
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155:Jeannette Lenore Crewe
920:Bailey, Earl (1976).
348:and ammunition, then
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1051:New Zealand Listener
985:Birt, Chris (2001).
902:Bell, Terry (1972).
879:Swain, Evan (1971).
459:Crime in New Zealand
360:Lenrick Johnston in
161:; 6 February 1940 –
945:A.B.C. of Injustice
911:Booth, Pat (1975).
354:Detective Inspector
265:Arthur Allan Thomas
171:Arthur Allan Thomas
149:(20 October 1941 –
101:Cause of death
1112:History of Waikato
848:New Zealand Herald
821:New Zealand Police
791:"Evidence Planted"
464:Death of Scott Guy
366:New Zealand Police
358:Detective Sergeant
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153:17 June 1970) and
147:David Harvey Crewe
58:David Harvey Crewe
1034:978-0-473-19646-2
1015:978-0-9582401-7-8
987:The Final Chapter
881:The Crewe Murders
362:police misconduct
356:Bruce Hutton and
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924:. Auckland.
883:. Auckland.
425:Ian Wishart
269:prosecution
237:.22 calibre
188:tax evasion
119:Nationality
1086:Categories
680:15 October
485:References
182:Background
129:Occupation
74:1940-02-06
63:1941-10-20
953:cite book
930:cite book
889:cite book
856:1170-0777
801:15 August
603:27 August
402:Pat Booth
374:in 1980.
302:Pat Booth
214:mother's
194:in 1966.
167:pardoning
1074:, 2012,
646:21 March
453:See also
207:burglary
199:Pukekawa
192:Auckland
89:Pukekawa
827:10 July
775:27 June
743:27 June
711:27 June
350:planted
304:of the
228:missing
132:Farmers
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993:
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378:Status
312:pardon
290:appeal
159:Demler
769:(PDF)
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387:Books
282:raped
257:duvet
242:alibi
222:Crime
211:arson
157:(née
1029:ISBN
1010:ISBN
991:ISBN
972:ISBN
959:link
936:link
895:link
863:2019
852:ISSN
829:2018
803:2018
777:2009
745:2009
713:2009
682:2010
648:2016
605:2017
440:and
338:NZ$
216:will
209:and
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