Scott Watson
Encyclopedia
Scott Watson is a New Zealand
er who was convicted in May 1999 after an 11-week trial of the murder
s of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope on his boat Blade on 1 January 1998.
The bodies of Smart and Hope have never been found. A sonar search of the entrance to Tory channel, an area of interest to the investigating police, found "there is no indication that the missing remains of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope are present or visible on the sea bed inside the search area".
Watson had 48 prior convictions, including some for theft and assault, and was subsequently convicted for one more assault while in prison. He is serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 17 years and is expected be released on 8 July 2016.
The New Zealand Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Watson. In 2003 Watson's lawyers Mike Antunovic
and Greg King applied to the Privy Council, it found no grounds for further appeal. Watson is applying for a royal pardon.
, at the northern point of the South Island
of New Zealand.
They were reported missing by Gerald Hope, Olivia’s father, on Friday 2 January. No sightings of them had been made since the early hours of 1 January. Initially, their disappearance was treated as a missing persons enquiry.
Questions have been raised about the manner of the police investigation, notably by Mike Kalaugher, who in 2001 published a book which was critical of the police methods used to obtain the conviction of Scott Watson, and by Keith Hunter, in a 2003 television documentary, and a 2006 book.
Having been turned down for an appeal to the Privy Council, Watson wrote to New Zealand’s Governor General in 2008, seeking advice as to obtaining a Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
In 2009, the Ministry of Justice appointed Kristy McDonald QC to investigate the case as a result of Watson’s appeal to the Governor General.
Watson married Coral Branch in Paremoremo prison in 2004. They split in 2007.
In 2007, Watson was found guilty by a magistrate of assaulting another inmate in Paparua Prison. In 2008, his appeal against that conviction failed.
A 2010 report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority cleared police of allegations by Keith Hunter and Chris Watson. It found the police investigation had fallen short of best practice in areas which "had no significant bearing on the outcome of the investigation". No evidence was found that would support Hunter's other claims.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er who was convicted in May 1999 after an 11-week trial of the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope on his boat Blade on 1 January 1998.
The bodies of Smart and Hope have never been found. A sonar search of the entrance to Tory channel, an area of interest to the investigating police, found "there is no indication that the missing remains of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope are present or visible on the sea bed inside the search area".
Watson had 48 prior convictions, including some for theft and assault, and was subsequently convicted for one more assault while in prison. He is serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 17 years and is expected be released on 8 July 2016.
The New Zealand Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Watson. In 2003 Watson's lawyers Mike Antunovic
Mike Antunovic
Mike Antunovic, is a New Zealand criminal defence lawyer. Antunovic is one of New Zealand's most experienced jury trial lawyers, and has appeared in many of New Zealand's most high profile criminal cases.-The Olivia Hope and Ben Smart Murder Mystery:...
and Greg King applied to the Privy Council, it found no grounds for further appeal. Watson is applying for a royal pardon.
The disappearance of Smart and Hope
On the morning of 1 January 1998, two young New Year’s Eve partygoers disappeared. Ben Smart (21) and Olivia Hope (17) had attended an all-night party to see in the New Year at Furneaux Lodge, in Endeavour Inlet, in the Marlborough SoundsMarlborough Sounds
The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels at the north of the South Island of New Zealand...
, at the northern point of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand.
They were reported missing by Gerald Hope, Olivia’s father, on Friday 2 January. No sightings of them had been made since the early hours of 1 January. Initially, their disappearance was treated as a missing persons enquiry.
Later developments
The defence appealed Watson’s conviction, and the case went to the Court of Appeal in April and May 2000. Three Appeal Court judges heard submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, but decided there was no new evidence to recommend a second trial. They disregarded the defence’s submission that the “two trip” theory had appeared “out of the blue” late in the trial.Questions have been raised about the manner of the police investigation, notably by Mike Kalaugher, who in 2001 published a book which was critical of the police methods used to obtain the conviction of Scott Watson, and by Keith Hunter, in a 2003 television documentary, and a 2006 book.
Having been turned down for an appeal to the Privy Council, Watson wrote to New Zealand’s Governor General in 2008, seeking advice as to obtaining a Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
In 2009, the Ministry of Justice appointed Kristy McDonald QC to investigate the case as a result of Watson’s appeal to the Governor General.
Watson married Coral Branch in Paremoremo prison in 2004. They split in 2007.
In 2007, Watson was found guilty by a magistrate of assaulting another inmate in Paparua Prison. In 2008, his appeal against that conviction failed.
A 2010 report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority cleared police of allegations by Keith Hunter and Chris Watson. It found the police investigation had fallen short of best practice in areas which "had no significant bearing on the outcome of the investigation". No evidence was found that would support Hunter's other claims.
External links
- Trial by Trickery http://www.hunterproductions.co.nz/
- Crime.co.nz- Operation TAM - Olivia Hope and Ben Smart http://www.crime.co.nz/c-files.aspx?ID=198
- http://tvnz.co.nz/content/3725