A Moment In Crime: The Kahui twins - who killed Chris and Cru?

Who killed Chris and Cru Kahui?

The twin brothers were only 84 days old when they died, within hours of each other, after being violently assaulted.

Baby brother Chris and Cru were only 84 days old when they died. Photo / Supplied

They suffered traumatic brain injuries, the result of severe impact forces to their tiny heads.

They had various other injuries at different stages of healing, and some very fresh.

Police and a Coroner agree that someone picked the babies up and either threw them against a hard surface or shook them violently.

Their father Chris Kahui was charged with murder but after a high-profile trial a jury acquitted him after only minutes of deliberating.

A Coroner later held an inquest and ruled Kahui was the only person who could have harmed the baby boys.

Macsyna King and Chris Kahui at their baby twin sons' funeral. Photo / NZH

But to date no one has been charged or convicted in relation to the boys' brutal deaths.

In this episode of A Moment In Crime - a Herald podcast - Anna Leask looks back at one of New Zealand's most abhorrent child abuse cases and lays out what happened to the babies and why no one, to date, has been held to account.

The episode contains never-before-heard audio of the boys' mother Macsyna King speaking about the moments Chris and Cru took their last breaths.

The twins' story is harrowing and tragic - but is sadly not unique in New Zealand.

Chris Kahui outside court after his High Court trial. He was acquitted on charges of murdering his baby twin sons Chris and Cru. Photo / NZH

This country has the worst rate of child abuse and family violence in the developed world and even then, what is reported to authorities makes up a slim percentage of what is happening behind closed doors across the country.

Leask, who has been covering crime and justice in depth since 2006, also revisits other cases and shares the latest figures on of New Zealand's worst known child abusers.

For all episodes of A Moment in Crime, see below or subscribe through iHeart Radio and your usual podcast apps.

This episode of A Moment In Crime contains information about violence, child abuse and murder and may be upsetting for some listeners.

Please take care.

Macsyna King speaks at the inquest for her baby sons. Photo / NZH

If you are worried about the safety of a child - please contact your local authorities and report it.

In New Zealand if you're concerned about the immediate safety of a child, call 111.

Alternatively contact your local police station or contact Oranga Tamariki.

Links and contact details can be found in the show notes of this episode and at the bottom of this article.

A Moment In Crime is written, hosted and produced by Leask with expertise from the NZME sound and vision team.

Leask has been covering crime and justice for NZME since early 2006 and has reported on most of the major incidents and events across New Zealand over that time.

Her interest in crime has never waned and her storytelling often delves much deeper than just the initial offence.

Chris Kahui giving evidence during the Coroner's inquest into the twins' death. Photo / NZH

"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.

Since then Leask has covered the Grace Millane murder, the Scott Watson case, the Christchurch house of horrors, the Aramoana massacre, the Ashburton Winz shootings, the mysterious death of Fielding farmer Scott Guy and arguably the most famous crime in New Zealand - the Crewe murders.

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.

NZME has a raft of other podcasts produced by journalists and broadcasters from the Herald, Newstalk ZB, ZM, The Hits and others - all available on iHeart radio.

We want to hear from you

If there is a case you'd like us to consider covering email anna.leask@nzme.co.nz

Are you worried about the safety of a child?

If you have concerns about the immediate safety of a child, call 111.

Alternatively contact your local police station - click her for a list.

Or, contact Oranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children on 0508 326 459 for advice or click here to visit the agency's website for more information.