A lone police officer patrols outside the Al Noor Mosque during the Call to Prayer at Hagley Park in Christchurch. 22 March, 2019. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell NZH 15Aug19 -
A lone police officer patrols outside the Al Noor Mosque during the Call to Prayer at Hagley Park in Christchurch. 22 March, 2019. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell NZH 15Aug19 -
Six months on from the Christchurch terror attacks, the Herald has launched a new monthly podcast called A Moment in Crime.
The first episode is dedicated to the March 15 terror attack - the people involved, and how the city and the world responded.
It was New Zealand's darkest day, and one we will never forget.
Our newsroom got the first call from a witness just minutes after the shooting started.
For the first time we are sharing audio from that interview - and others - as we take you back to the day that changed us all.
Then he drove 7km across the city to the Linwood Mosque and gunned down even more people.
They should have all been safe as they gathered to pray.
But by the end of his rampage, 51 men, women and children were fatally wounded and another 40 severely injured.
Within 18 minutes the alleged offender had been caught and he is now in custody awaiting trial for New Zealand's worst massacre.
Today we will back on New Zealand's first terror attack in the first episode of the Herald's new podcast A Moment In Crime.
We're revisiting stories from those who witnessed and survived the massacre and the families of the slain.
We're sharing never-before-heard audio from people who were at the mosques on the day, who saw the worst of the carnage.
And we'll look at how we responded as a nation, and at what actually happened on that terrible day from the site of the attacks to our newsroom and beyond.
A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by Anna Leask, senior crime reporter for the Herald. The podcast is produced by Chris Tarpey and Frances Cook is the executive producer.
Leask has been covering crime and justice for the Herald for more than a decade and has reported on most of the major incidents and events over that time.
Anna Leask is the Herald's senior crime and justice reporter and the host of new podcast A Moment In Crime. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"Each month I'll take you inside some of our most infamous incidents, notorious offenders and behind the scenes of high-profile trials and events to show you what's really happening in your backyard," she said.
"Heroes and villains battle for justice to be done, and it seems no matter how horrifying the story, we always want to know more.
"If you want to know more about the cases that have shocked and shaped our nation - from murders and massacres to violent villains and the utterly unbelievable - join me for A Moment In Crime."
The podcast is the second for Leask.
In 2017 she wrote and hosted Chasing Ghosts - a six-part podcast series on the Amber-Lee Cruickshank case.
The South Island toddler disappeared almost 27 years ago from a small town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.
Despite exhaustive and repeated searches, there has never been any sign of the little girl.
Photos of Amber-Lee Cruickshank who was 2 when she disappeared. The Herald podcast Chasing Ghosts looked into her baffling cold case. Photo / Mike Scott
To mark the 25th anniversary of Amber-Lee's disappearance, Leask investigated the famous cold case in a bid to generate some answers for the toddler's family.
It was the Herald's first true-crime podcast.
You can listen to A Moment In Crime on the Herald website now, or download episodes on iHeartRadio or Apple podcasts next week.
We want to hear from you
If there's a case you want us to consider covering, email
