Alicia O'Reilly was raped and murdered in her own bed in 1980. Photo / supplied
Alicia O'Reilly was just 6 when she was murdered.
A man broke into her family home in the night and sexually assaulted the child before killing her in her own bed.
Her sister Juliet was sleeping less than a metre away, but was not harmed.
Her mother Nancye was sleeping across the hall - and heard nothing.
Forty years on police are still hunting for Alicia's killer.
This weekend the Herald has looked back a the case, with senior journalist Jared Savage speaking to the key players about the case, the heartache of never having justice and their decades of unanswered questions.
And senior crime and justice reporter Anna Leask revisits the crime and the impact it has had on those close to Alicia in her monthly podcast A Moment In Crime.
A BROKEN ANGEL - READ THE FULL FEATURE HERE
READ MORE:
• A Moment In Crime Podcast: The murder of Scott Guy - 10 years on from the murder of a farmer, father, friend
• A Moment In Crime podcast: the Crewe murders, New Zealand's most infamous cold case
• A Moment In Crime podcast: Baby Kahu, the kidnapping that shook the nation
• A Moment In Crime podcast: Two weddings and a murder - the case of Auckland man Blazej Kot
• A Moment In Crime: House of Horrors - the macabre crimes of Jason Somerville
• A Moment In Crime: Herald true crime podcast now available in podcast apps
• A Moment In Crime: The disappearance and death of Aisling Symes revisited in Herald podcast
• A Moment In Crime: Operation Net - the murder of Kayo Matsuzawa
• House of Horrors transcript - a lurid tale of death and sex
Episode nine is available on the Herald website today - and you can listen on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by Anna Leask, senior crime reporter for the Herald. The podcast is produced by Chris Tarpey.
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.
"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 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.
READ MORE AND LISTEN TO CHASING GHOSTS HERE
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 there's a case you want us to consider covering, email
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