Supreme Court turns down serial rapist and killer Malcolm Rewa’s bid for another appeal

Malcolm Rewa unsuccessfully asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal against his convictions for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett. Photo / Michael Craig

Convicted killer and rapist Malcolm Rewa has reached the end of the road in his legal battle against his conviction for the murder and rape of Susan Burdett.

Today, the Supreme Court released to the public its April 10 decision dismissing his application for leave to hear an appeal.

It followed the Court of Appeal’s decision in February last year to dismiss his challenge against the convictions, finding there had been no miscarriage of justice in the case.

Rewa was convicted in 2019 of Burdett’s murder after South Auckland man Teina Pora wrongly spent two decades in prison for her killing.

Burdett was found dead in her South Auckland home in 1992. That night she had attended a regular tenpin bowling event in Manukau.

In 1996, testing found Rewa’s DNA on Burdett and that year he stood trial for her rape and murder.

He also faced around 43 charges of sexual offending against 25 other complainants.

Rewa was found guilty of most of the charges but the jury was not able to agree on the charges relating to Burdett’s rape and murder.

He was tried again in 1998 and again the jury was not able to agree on the murder charge but did find him guilty of her rape.

In 2019, Rewa’s third jury trial for Burdett’s murder resulted in his conviction.

Pora had been previously convicted of her murder in 1994 based on what has now been recognised as a false confession.

His appeal against that conviction was allowed by the Privy Council and he was later awarded around $3.5 million for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

The Supreme Court’s decision stated Rewa’s lawyers, Quentin Duff and Scott McColgan, argued for leave to appeal on the basis that a substantial miscarriage of justice occurred.

They submitted Rewa’s conviction for Burdett’s rape was wrongly admitted under the Evidence Act, propensity evidence relating to his convictions for sexual offending against 21 other victims was wrongly admitted, and that he was deprived of his right to a fair trial due to a lack of effective representation by his trial counsel.

Another ground for the proposed appeal related to the evidence of a witness, whose name and other details have been suppressed and who Rewa contended murdered Burdett.

Rewa’s lawyers’ submission was that the court could not, on the basis of the evidence, be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was he who committed the killing.

However, the Crown submitted that should the court find a miscarriage of justice occurred at trial, it can nevertheless be sure of Rewa’s guilt.

While the Crown opposed his application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal, the Supreme Court allowed it.

But in then dismissing the application, it ruled “no issue of principle arises” and there is no risk of a possible miscarriage of justice.

“It is therefore not in the interests of justice to grant Mr Rewa’s application for leave to appeal.”

Rewa was sentenced to life imprisonment for Burdett’s murder, to be served concurrently with his existing 22-year preventive detention sentence for his rapes.

The Supreme Court is New Zealand’s highest court and the final appeal court.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.