Helen Meads with her daughter Kimberley. Photo / Supplied
In September 2009 Helen Meads was gunned down at her Matamata home.
She was shot at close range, her body found soon after by police in the stables at the property she shared with her racehorse breeder husband Greg Meads.
Meads was charged with Helen's murder and it later emerged that their marriage had been rife with domestic violence and the last fatal assault came after she announced she was leaving.
Meads denied that he meant to kill Helen.
While he admitted to shooting her, he claimed it was an accident - that he went to confront her about why she was leaving him, that he took the loaded gun, that it went off by mistake.
But after a high-profile High Court trial Meads was found guilty of Helen's murder.
He was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 11 years before he could apply for parole.
Helen is survived by her three children - Michael, Kimberley and Samantha.
Her parents David and Pam White have, since she died, been telling her story in a bid to raise awareness around domestic violence and the dangers women face when living with abusive men.
In today's episode of Herald podcast A Moment In Crime, senior journalist Anna Leask revisits Helen Meads' life, death and legacy.
In this episode you will hear about the marriage marred by abuse, violence and control; Helen's last days and the harrowing ordeal her parents endured after she died.
For information on where to get help for domestic violence and abuse - please scroll down.
New Zealand has the worst rate of family and intimate-partner violence in the world.
Eighty per cent of incidents go unreported — so what we know of family violence in our community is barely the tip of the iceberg.
While all people are capable of violence regardless of gender - the vast majority of domestic violence is perpetrated against women by men.
The statistics are horrendous - one in three Kiwi women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
When psychological/emotional abuse is included, that figure spikes to 55 per cent.
Domestic violence is not something people like to acknowledge or discuss - but when Helen Meads was brutally murdered at her own home, going about her usual day, by a man who simply could not accept she was leaving - New Zealanders were forced to face the shocking situation.
Helen's case is, sadly, not unique.
In fact, between January 2011 and late 2021 there were 136 women killed by their partners.
But Helen's case shook this country.
From the outside, Helen had it all - lovely children, a comfortable home, a millionaire racehorse breeder husband.
But behind closed doors, Helen's life was far from perfect.
Rather, it was a life of fear, control, beatings, trauma and sadness.
A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by Anna Leask, senior crime reporter for the Herald.
Leask has been covering crime and justice for the Herald for more than 16 years and has reported on most of the major incidents and events in New Zealand over that time.
"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."
In our first episode, we looked back at the Christchurch terror attack - what unfolded on March 15 and how it changed New Zealand.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 1 OF A MOMENT IN CRIME
The podcast has also delved into the death of West Auckland toddler Aisling Symes, the cold case murder of Kayo Matsuzawa, the murder of Feilding farmer Scott Guy, the disappearance of Jim Donnelly at the Glenbrook steel mill, the murders of Grace Millane and the Kahui twins, the killing of Christie Marceau, and double killer Jason Somerville, infamous for the Christchurch House of Horrors.
In 2017, Leask 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.
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.
To subscribe to A Moment In Crime visit iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people.
• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay
Where to go for help or more information:
• Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz
It's understood a NZDF aircraft and multiple helicopters are involved.