KEY POINTS:
A honeymooning Dutch couple who fell victim to a cruel attack earned the "awesome respect" of police investigating the crime.
Detective Sergeant Rhys Johnston from the Kaikohe police said it was "one of the best days in the job" when the two attackers were arrested.
Career criminal Keith Anthony McEwen, 30, and Christopher Mana Manuel, 27, disguised as police officers, forced their way into the couple's campervan while it was parked near Haruru Falls in Northland last November.
The victims were tied up. McEwen sexually violated the woman before the pair were driven to an A" machine and forced to withdraw money. They were later dumped and sought help from a local resident.
McEwen was last month sentenced to preventive detention and will serve at least 10 years, while Manuel was sentenced to nine years and must serve six before he can apply for parole.
In the latest issue of the police magazine Ten One, Detective Johnston said police spent four "solid 12-hour days with the victims getting one of the most comprehensive statements you'll ever see in an investigation".
By the end of the investigation and interviews with the attackers, police said they had "more evidence than they could wish for".
"It was probably one of my best days in the job to wrap that one up," Detective Johnston said.
He said the victims had been subjected to "an absolute horrific" attack.
"But they both stood up to it really well. I have awesome respect for them and their ability to get across to us exactly what had happened in so much detail."
Mr Johnston said that after the attack police took everything the couple owned - "including the clothes they were wearing at the time" - as part of the inquiry. They had no money because their cash and credit cards were stolen, but people throughout New Zealand donated money and offered accommodation and support.
Mr Johnston said McEwen and Manuel went to extraordinary lengths to cover their tracks after the attack.
"They were very forensically aware," he told Ten One.
On day three of the investigation police found a fingerprint on a juice carton in the campervan's refrigerator and matched it with a name.
On day five they found a DNA sample on a cannabis butt at Mt Bledisloe, where the attackers had taken the kidnapped couple.
That gave police the name of the second attacker. On day 10 Manuel was arrested in an early morning raid and police found a lot of gear stolen from the Dutch couple.
In an interview Manuel used McEwen's nickname and he was arrested.
Detective Johnston said both men gave full and frank admissions and led police to where they had hidden the shotgun they used, the reflective jackets they wore as disguises when they carried out the attack, a police scanner, sedatives, handcuff ties and other items.
Passing sentence in the High Court at Whangarei, Justice Tony Randerson said the attack horrified the community and caused substantial harm to New Zealand's reputation overseas.
- NZPA
