KEY POINTS:
Lawyers for acquitted double-murder accused Chris Kahui say police should stop continuing to imply he is guilty of killing his twin boys.
"He has been found not guilty. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence - it has to be presumed that he's innocent of these charges," co-counsel
Michele Wilkinson-Smith said yesterday.
Mrs Wilkinson-Smith said she and co-lawyer Lorraine Smith had not wanted to speak about the case after Mr Kahui's acquittal last Thursday, but felt compelled to break their silence after ongoing "misinformation" by police.
"To say, 'We respect the jury's verdict,' but then basically give the impression they arrested the right person completely undermines that comment that they respect the jury's verdict."
Mr Kahui's defence team were concerned by a police line that they would not reopen the investigation into the twins' deaths on the grounds there was no new evidence.
Mrs Wilkinson-Smith said two bits of new information were brought to light by the defence at the trial, both of which were enough for the case to be reopened.
The first was the alleged time the twins were injured.
A defence expert expanded the Crown's timeframe from about 15 minutes to several hours.
"The timeframe has opened up and there is now - on the medical evidence - two opportunities for other people to have hurt the babies," Mrs Wilkinson-Smith said.
"The reason Chris Kahui was charged was very much based on the time the injuries were inflicted ... if the timeframe that police originally proceeded on is not right, then the basis on which they charged Chris Kahui is arguably not right."
Police have always stuck by the Crown's timing of when the injuries were inflicted.
The second piece of new information related to Emily King's admission that she returned to South Auckland on the night of the assault on the twins.
The boys' mother - star prosecution witness Macsyna King - said she was with Emily King all night in West Auckland but Emily's admission casts doubt on that.
"That is completely new, the fact that there is an admitted return trip by them on the evening half an hour before one of the babies stopped breathing."
Mrs Wilkinson-Smith said there had been a lot of misinformation from the police and she was frustrated at the continued insinuations that the twins' family did not speak to police after their murder.
"It's just not true. Who didn't co-operate, who didn't give a statement?
"Everybody gave a statement and numerous statements, Chris Kahui gave three."
Mr Kahui's lawyers are filing a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority about whether rules over disclosure of evidence to the defence were followed.
The Kahui file is now being "debriefed" by police.
However, the process is more of an internal review of how the case went, not police looking for new lines of inquiry.
THE NEW EVIDENCE
KAHUI LAWYERS SAY
Cellphone records put Macsyna King in the Mangere area the night the twins were injured.
THE CROWN SAYS
There is no evidence of that.
KAHUI LAWYERS SAY
Twins' injuries could have been inflicted many hours earlier than prosecutors claim.
THE CROWN SAYS
Twins' injuries happened no more than 15 minutes before they began showing symptoms.
