Controversial Crime Stories
The Crewe murders marked New Zealand's first controversial court case to be played out in the television age. Since then other controversial cases have been the subject of high profile documentaries and dramas. This collection includes Relative Guilt, about the David Wayne Tamihere case, a spirited talk on the David Bain case, and Scott Watson documentary Murder on the Blade?. The latter was directed by Keith Hunter, a leading “miscarriage of justice” filmmaker. Plus watch an excerpt from Bloodlines, and go behind the scenes on film Beyond Reasonable Doubt.
Holmes - Joe Karam and James McNeish on David Bain
In May 1995, 22-year old David Bain was convicted of murdering five members of his family with a rifle in their Dunedin home. Bain would spend over a decade in prison before being acquitted on all charges. National debate around the 1995 verdict was galvanised by the release of two conflicting books on the case — Joe Karam’s David and Goliath and James McNeish’s The Mask of Sanity. The former All Black and the writer go head-to-head in this often testy Holmes debate from 1997. Ten years later, the Privy Council quashed Bain’s 1995 conviction; he was acquitted in a 2009 retrial.
Bryan Bruce
Since the late 1980s Bryan Bruce has been a prolific documentary maker and presenter. Over more than 30 documentaries, plus three seasons of The Investigator, he has cast fresh eyes on some of the most famous crimes in New Zealand’s history, and asked tough questions about the country’s economic and social trajectory.
Chris Harrington
Chris Harrington began in local television in 1976, reporting and producing current affairs and news. Highlights of his career include award-winning Sunday stories about allegations of police pack rape by Louise Nicholas, and another on treatment of Porirua Hospital inmates. In 1989 he was awarded a QSM for services to journalism. In 2007 Harrington moved into private production and public relations.
Janet McIntyre
Brisbane-raised Janet McIntyre moved to New Zealand in 1989, and filed reports for 3 News before moving on to 60 Minutes and 20/20. Since switching to TVNZ she has been a long-time mainstay of current affairs show Sunday. She has filed stories from Kandahar to Gloriavale, and tackled interviewees ranging from Fijian dictators to Madonna. She was named TV Journalist of the Year at the 2005 Qantas TV Awards.
Melanie Reid
Whether on air or behind the scenes, award-winning investigative journalist Melanie Reid was a fixture of TV3 current affairs shows for over 25 years. As a reporter on 60 Minutes and 20/20, she went undercover to expose Neville Cooper's community at Gloriavale, and profiled Peter Ellis and David Bain. Reid also fronted 2006 documentary Let Us Spray, on chemical 245T. She now works for website Newsroom.