The infamous 'Witness C' who was found guilty of perjury after claiming David Tamihere boasted of a double murder in 1989 has been named.
A prison inmate who successfully prosecuted a jailhouse informant for perjury during the infamous David Tamihere murder trial now wants police to charge the convicted liar again - or he will.
Arthur Taylor, known as the "jailhouse lawyer", penned a letter and complaint of perjury with accompanying legal documents to Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
In it Taylor asks police to lay perjury charges against Roberto Conchie Harris, known for nearly 30 years as Witness C, for Harris' testimony during the High Court perjury trial last year.
Taylor was the architect of the private prosecution against Harris and was aided in court by barrister Murray Gibson and researcher Mike Kalaugher.
Last month, the Herald and other media organisations unveiled Witness C to be Harris, a double-murderer, fraudster and sex offender.
He was one of three prison snitches the Crown relied on to give "powerful" evidence during Tamihere's 1990 trial, which saw him found guilty of murdering Swedish tourists Sven Urban Höglin, 23, and Heidi Paakkonen, 21, in the Coromandel Ranges in 1989.
Arthur Taylor says Roberto Harris should be prosecuted for his testimony during his perjury trial. Photo / NZ Herald
A copy of Taylor's letter, provided to the Herald, claims that during last year's trial, Harris "again committed perjury in claiming on oath that David Tamihere had made incriminating admissions to him concerning involvement in the murders of Paakkonen and Hoglin."
Taylor said Harris also gave "false evidence" by stating he retracted his original evidence because he had been threatened with violence on several occasions.
The inmate, who has taken prominent legal issues such as prisoner voting rights to the Supreme Court, also referenced a Herald story which quoted police as needing a complaint before a criminal investigation could take place.
"Hopefully police are not resiling from that, so before bringing Harris before the courts on his latest perjury myself, I am asking police to investigate and bring charges," Taylor wrote.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush. Photo / Andrew Warner
Taylor's letter also noted that Harris has been writing letters to Stuff journalist Tommy Livingston, which included the statement, "Any sentence will not have a significant impact on me".
Taylor said Harris' comment "demonstrates a complete failure to recognise the harm he has done to the integrity of the criminal justice system".
When sentencing Harris last year for the perjury convictions, Justice Christian Whata said the offending had a "high level of premeditation", "reveals a level of callousness" and was a "brazen assault on the foundation of our criminal justice system".
When approached by the Herald about prosecuting Crown witnesses for perjury, police previously said it could not recall ever having laid charges against a prison witness.
National crime manager Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson has said police will investigate any suspected perjury where it is prompted by a court recommendation or by a complaint.
Police have, however, successfully prosecuted witnesses who committed perjury to procure acquittal.
Today, police said in a statement the letter has been referred for assessment to the Waikato Police District, the division originally responsible for the investigation into the Swedes' murders.
David Tamihere has always denied the crimes he spent two decades behind bars for. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Just hours after Harris was revealed as Witness C a second secret informant - Witness B - was unmasked.
Witness A is now the only prison informant of the three snitches to still enjoy identity suppression from Tamihere's trial.
However, his exact location and wellbeing is unknown despite speculation the informant may now be overseas, possibly in Fiji.
Tamihere has always denied he committed the murders but has exhausted the judicial appeals process. A Royal prerogative of mercy application asking the Government for a pardon has not been ruled out.
Tamihere told Newstalk ZB's Larry Williams after Harris was unmasked that all the jailhouse witnesses during his trial had lied.
He said "jailhouse snitches" were "the most dangerous witnesses you could hope to get in the justice system".
