Deane Fuller-Sandys’ convicted killers Gail Maney, Stephen Stone head to Court of Appeal

Labelled the “Gone Fishing” killings, it’s a case that’s captured the attention of Kiwis for years, and now more than three decades since 21 year-old Auckland tyre-fitter Deane Fuller-Sandys disappeared, his killers will seek to overturn their convictions in the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

Presumed to have been washed off rocks while fishing on the city’s West Coast in 1989, Fuller-Sandys’ body was never found.

But a decade later, police concluded he’d been shot dead by gang member Stephen Stone at the request of West Auckland woman Gail Maney, after a burglary at her Larnoch Road home.

Convicted in 1999 and during a retrial in 2000, Maney then spent 16 years in prison for a crime she says she didn’t commit.

Stone still remains in prison today.

Two others - Gail Maney’s brother Colin, and Mark Henriksen - were found guilty of being accessories after the fact.

Gail Maney spent 16 years in prison for ordering the murder of Deane Fuller-Sandys. Maney has maintained her innocence since before she was convicted in 1999.

After years of trying to clear their names, it was a podcast that brought the case to light again, and last month it was revealed police hadn’t disclosed two vital documents that affected the credibility of two key witnesses.

The crown accepted a miscarriage of justice occurred, and recommended the Court of Appeal quash the convictions. But in a surprising twist of events, it wants to put Maney and Stone back on trial again.

It’s further complications in an already controversial case that still doesn’t answer the question: Who killed Deane Fuller-Sandys?

We’ll have all the latest from the Court of Appeal during tomorrow’s hearing on nzherald.co.nz.