Police offer $100,000 reward for information in relation to the murder of Arthur Easton 39 years ago

• Police have announced a $100,000 reward in the hope of catching the murder of Arthur Easton in Papakura 39 years ago.
• Alan Hall, wrongfully convicted, spent 19 years in prison and nearly four decades clearing his name before his conviction was overturned in 2022.
• Two former police staff and a former Crown prosecutor have been charged in the case.
• Family of murdered man share their pain, “unanswered questions continue to haunt us every day”.

Police have offered a $100,000 reward in relation to the murder of Arthur Easton 39 years ago in Papakura.

And family of the slain man have spoken of their enduring pain over his murder - and the fact the killer has never faced justice - saying “we have been robbed of a lifetime of memories with him”.

Alan Hall was wrongfully convicted of Easton’s murder and spent 19 years behind bars.

Hall was 23 when he was accused of murdering Papakura man Arthur Easton in a violent home invasion in October 1985.

He was convicted in 1986 and spent nearly two decades behind bars – and nearly four decades fighting to clear his name of a murder he did not commit.

His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, with the panel of judges ruling key evidence at his trial was “materially altered”.

Today Detective Inspector Warrick Adkin announced the $100,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of Arthur Easton’s murderer.

The reward will remain in place until January 24 next year. It will also involve immunity.

“Thirty-nine years ago this month, a male intruder entered the Easton family home on Grove Rd, Paparkua about 8pm,” Adkin said.

”This offender was wearing a brown woollen hat pulled over his face and he was also armed with a bayonet.”

Easton, who was 52, was stabbed multiple times.

Detective Superintendent Uraia Vakaruru (left) and Detective Inspector Warrick Adkin speak to media about reopening the case for the murder of 52-year-old Arhtur Easton in Papakura in 1985. Photo / Michael Craig

”The intruder fled the Grove Rd property.”

The woollen hat and bayonet were recovered at the Grove Rd home.

“To this day, Athur’s killer remains at large. We know there will still be people within our community today who know who is responsible for this.

“I encourage them to do the right thing now and come forward.”

Police this morning made an appeal at a media stand-up in Auckland, including the six-figure reward.

Alan Hall had his conviction quashed after five appeals. Photo / Greg Bowker

Adkin said Easton’s family were aware of the new investigation.

Police were speaking to some of the same people they spoke to in the original investigation.

Adkin said he hoped the reward would encourage people to come forward.

In a message to the offender, Adkin said: “Take responsibility for your actions. Do the right thing now, and come forward”.

He said he hoped the hat and the bayonet would be a “prompt for anyone who knew someone who had these items in the 80s”.

In terms of the reward, immunity is only applicable to persons aside from the principal offender.

“We don’t have any information to suggest there is more than one person involved in this,” Adkin said.

“We do need the public’s help to solve this case.”

Police are issuing an appeal in relation to the murder of Arthur Easton in Papakura 39 years ago. Photo / Supplied

He said police would interview people not previously part of the last investigation who had attracted police attention due to “new intelligence”.

Two former police staff members and a former Crown prosecutor have now been charged in connection to the wrongful conviction, one of New Zealand’s most high-profile miscarriages of justice. Hall also received a nearly $5 million compensation payout from the Government.

Last month, Commissioner Andrew Coster said police had met with Hall to apologise over the case.

“I met with Alan and his family and apologised on behalf of police for the shortcomings in our original investigation that led to his wrong conviction,” Coster said in a statement.

“I am grateful to Alan and his family, who have been a great support to him, for meeting with me and accepting our apology.

The murder of Arthur Easton

Easton, 52, and his two teenage sons were attacked in October 1985 by a bayonet-wielding home invader.

He was stabbed in his liver during the frenzied attack and died of blood loss after emergency services arrived on the scene.

The murder weapon and a woolly hat were all that were left at the scene by the killer, described to be a Māori man, tall and broad in stature.

Hall, who was later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, came to police attention two months later because he owned a bayonet and beanie similar to the ones found at the scene, and was walking in the area at the time of the attack.

The description of the attacker and key witness statements from a man who was in the area at the time were concealed by police, and a jury found Hall guilty of the murder in 1986.

In June 2022, Hall’s conviction was finally quashed in the family’s fifth attempt to clear his name.

Family of of Arthur Easton opens up about the pain they have endured

In a statement released by police, the family of Easton have spoken of their never-ending grief over his murder, and pain that the true killer has never faced justice.

They said “our lives were shattered” when he was “brutally murdered in our home”.

“He was a kind, hardworking man who cherished his family.

“He would have liked nothing better than seeing his children grow up, be there for their important moments and would have loved being a grandfather.

“We have been robbed of a lifetime of memories with him.

“The pain of his loss and the unanswered questions continue to haunt us every day.”

The family urged anyone with information that could see the killer facing justice to come foward.

“We believe someone out there knows something that could help bring his killer to justice.

“Even the smallest detail could be the key to solving this case.

“If you have any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please do the right thing, come forward and help us find peace.”

>> Police have launched an 0800 number for tipsters to help the investigation. They can contact the investigation team directly by phoning 0800 GROVE 1985 (0800 476 831 985)

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.