Arthur Allan Thomas
Encyclopedia
Arthur Allan Thomas was convicted in 1971 of the Harvey and Jeannette Crewe murders in June 1970 in Pukekawa
(Maori for Bitter Hill), south of Auckland, New Zealand. Thomas, who farmed a property in the same district as the Crewes, was twice convicted of their murders but later given a Royal Pardon. He was released in December 1979 and compensated for his time spent in prison and loss of the use of the farm. A Royal Commission of Inquiry, headed by retired New South Wales
Justice Robert Taylor
, declared him to have been wrongfully charged and convicted, and found that among other improprieties, police had planted a .22 rifle cartridge case in the garden of the house where the murders were committed. The case was found four months and ten days after the area had already been subjected to one of the most intensive police searches ever undertaken. The cartridge case was said to have come from a rifle belongng to Thomas. However, the police tested only 64 rifles in an area where this weapon was common and found that any two — including the one belonging to Thomas — could have fired the cartridge case found in the garden. This was the link to the deaths of the Crewes although it was later admitted that the case was "clean" and uncorroded when found. As such, the condition of the case was inconsitent with having lain in the garden, exposed to weather and dirt for more than four months.
The inconsistencies in the evidence led to an outcry among elements in the farming community and among family members of Arthur and Vivien Thomas. This led to the formation of the Arthur Thomas Retrial Committee. The report by a retired judge Sir George MacGregor that rejected the appeal for a retrial was also riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. But a report on this by journalist Terry Bell, then deputy editor of the Auckland Star
Saturday edition, was rejected for publication on the grounds that "it is not the role of the newspapers to attempt to try the courts". Bell then resigned and produced the booklet, Bitter Hill, outlining the evidence, the inconsistencies and the theory about the killings advanced by the retrial committee. It provided the impetus for a national campaign that eventually led to a cotroversial retrial where the jury was housed, in communicado, with police in a local hotel. Thomas was again convicted.
Pat Booth, assistant editor of the Auckland Star, attended the retrial and became concerned. Together with forensic scientist, Jim Sprott, he uncovered the evidence about the cartridge case that finally led to the pardon for Thomas. As part of the campaign for a pardon, Booth wrote a book, Trial by Ambush. This was followed by another campaigning tome, Beyond Reasonable Doubt by British investigative author David Yallop
, that was subsequently made into a film of the same name
.
In 2009 Arthur Thomas travelled to Christchurch to give support to David Bain
, who also had criminal convictions against him overturned.
In 2010 he collaborated with investigative journalist Ian Wishart
on the book Arthur Allan Thomas where for the first time he gives his perspective on his life, from before the murders to the present.
Pukekawa
Pukekawa is a small rural community located in the Lower Waikato area of Franklin District, New Zealand. It is about an hour's drive south of Auckland. Pukekawa, an extinct volcano, is one of the oldest volcanic cones in the Auckland region. The area's fertile soils are used to grow a range of...
(Maori for Bitter Hill), south of Auckland, New Zealand. Thomas, who farmed a property in the same district as the Crewes, was twice convicted of their murders but later given a Royal Pardon. He was released in December 1979 and compensated for his time spent in prison and loss of the use of the farm. A Royal Commission of Inquiry, headed by retired New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Justice Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor, Rob or Bob Taylor may refer to:*Robert Taylor , British general of the late eighteenth century*Robert Taylor , American computer scientist...
, declared him to have been wrongfully charged and convicted, and found that among other improprieties, police had planted a .22 rifle cartridge case in the garden of the house where the murders were committed. The case was found four months and ten days after the area had already been subjected to one of the most intensive police searches ever undertaken. The cartridge case was said to have come from a rifle belongng to Thomas. However, the police tested only 64 rifles in an area where this weapon was common and found that any two — including the one belonging to Thomas — could have fired the cartridge case found in the garden. This was the link to the deaths of the Crewes although it was later admitted that the case was "clean" and uncorroded when found. As such, the condition of the case was inconsitent with having lain in the garden, exposed to weather and dirt for more than four months.
The inconsistencies in the evidence led to an outcry among elements in the farming community and among family members of Arthur and Vivien Thomas. This led to the formation of the Arthur Thomas Retrial Committee. The report by a retired judge Sir George MacGregor that rejected the appeal for a retrial was also riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. But a report on this by journalist Terry Bell, then deputy editor of the Auckland Star
Auckland Star
The Auckland Star was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 20 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the Sunday Star, part of its name endures in The Sunday Star-Times, created in the 1994 merger of the Dominion Sunday Times and the Sunday...
Saturday edition, was rejected for publication on the grounds that "it is not the role of the newspapers to attempt to try the courts". Bell then resigned and produced the booklet, Bitter Hill, outlining the evidence, the inconsistencies and the theory about the killings advanced by the retrial committee. It provided the impetus for a national campaign that eventually led to a cotroversial retrial where the jury was housed, in communicado, with police in a local hotel. Thomas was again convicted.
Pat Booth, assistant editor of the Auckland Star, attended the retrial and became concerned. Together with forensic scientist, Jim Sprott, he uncovered the evidence about the cartridge case that finally led to the pardon for Thomas. As part of the campaign for a pardon, Booth wrote a book, Trial by Ambush. This was followed by another campaigning tome, Beyond Reasonable Doubt by British investigative author David Yallop
David Yallop
David Anthony Yallop is an agnostic British author who writes chiefly about unsolved crimes. In the 1970s he also contributed scripts for a number of BBC comedy shows...
, that was subsequently made into a film of the same name
Beyond Reasonable Doubt (film)
Beyond Reasonable Doubt is a 1980 New Zealand docu-drama feature film about the conviction of Arthur Allan Thomas, later pardoned, for the murder of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe in 1970....
.
In 2009 Arthur Thomas travelled to Christchurch to give support to David Bain
David Bain
David Cullen Bain is a New Zealander who featured in one of the country's most notable murder cases. He was convicted in May 1995 of the murders of his parents and siblings in Dunedin on 20 June 1994...
, who also had criminal convictions against him overturned.
In 2010 he collaborated with investigative journalist Ian Wishart
Ian Wishart
Ian Wishart is a New Zealand journalist, author, an opponent to the hypothesis of anthropogenic climate change, and the editor of Investigate magazine...
on the book Arthur Allan Thomas where for the first time he gives his perspective on his life, from before the murders to the present.
See also
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt (film)Beyond Reasonable Doubt (film)Beyond Reasonable Doubt is a 1980 New Zealand docu-drama feature film about the conviction of Arthur Allan Thomas, later pardoned, for the murder of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe in 1970....
, about the conviction of Thomas - Crime in New ZealandCrime in New ZealandCrime in New Zealand is of strong interest to the public due to concerns for personal safety and security of property. The media regularly reports only certain types of crimes and this may give a skewed perception to the public.-History:...
External links
- Article by Pat Booth in the New Zealand Listener
- Report urging Police to reopen the case in 2006 Based on Chris Birt's investigation into the identity of the unknown woman.
- 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
- Investigative journalist Pat Booth 40 years on from the Crewe Murders and what he thinks really happened