In 1916 James Frankelton Holland and his wife Hilda Marion Holland, pictured with their son Cyril, were murdered in their Kaiapoi home. Cyril survived the bloody attack.
In 1916 James Frankelton Holland and his wife Hilda Marion Holland, pictured with their son Cyril, were murdered in their Kaiapoi home. Cyril survived the bloody attack.
There are currently 66 unsolved homicides in New Zealand, dating back to 1914. That's 66 men, women and children - some siblings or couples murdered together - whose deaths are a mystery. Justice has never been served for them or their families, and while in some cases police are confident that one day they will get a result, others will never be solved. Police provided the Herald with details of each of the unsolved homicides from 1914 to June this year.
For the next four days we will detail each murder: who the victim was, what happened, and when.
Today, we look at the unsolved murders between 1900 and 1940.
Police give every case they investigate a code.
Each of the 66 cases on the unsolved list has been given a homicide offence code - meaning it is a situation in which one person has killed another by murder or manslaughter.
The list also omits a number of murder victims in cases where alleged killers have been tried in court and acquitted.
Cases like Feilding farmer Scott Guy, the Kahui twins and the Bain family murders have also been left off the list.
The alleged killers in those cases - Guy's brother-in-law Ewen Macdonald, the twins' father Chris Kahui, and David Bain - were all either acquitted of murder charges at trial, had convictions quashed on appeal or were found not guilty at re-trial.
This is because police charged the person they believed was responsible for the deaths, and regardless of acquittals in court, they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the crimes.
"Police record an offence code when they have sufficient evidence to suggest that the specific offence occurred," police National Criminal Investigations Group spokeswoman Kathryn Wilson said.
"The outcomes of court proceedings are separate from the outcomes of police investigations.
"Police homicide investigations generally consider all lines of inquiry that might lead to the identification and prosecution of an alleged offender.
"Where there are further lines of inquiry following court proceedings, new information is provided or there is a likelihood of identifying or prosecuting further alleged offenders, police will continue to undertake investigative activities as appropriate and the investigation may be reopened."
One of the 66 victims has never been identified and police refused to release the names of three others.
They said the names were with-held because publishing the information "would be likely to prejudice the law including the prevention investigation and detection of offences and the right to a fair trial".
"Homicide investigations are often lengthy and the cause of death may not be known for some time," a police spokesperson said.
"There may be some deaths included [on the list] that, following thorough investigation, are re-categorised as not suspicious.
"Likewise, there might be deaths that are not considered to be suspicious until much later, therefore they would not be included."
The 66 unsolved homicides all centre around a person: a parent, child, friend, colleague and member of the community.
For their loved ones, many who have been interviewed by the Herald over the years, the pain of their death is compounded by not knowing who was responsible, not having any resolution of justice.
Today, as we remember those killed, we urge anyone with information on these cases to contact their local police - or offer details anonymously via Crimestoppers - and help them solve the mystery of what happened to the 66.
Housewife Margaret Oates was beaten to death. Image/Northern Advocate
When he walked into the kitchen he was violently attacked by someone in the house - struck with a "bludgeon" knocked down, kicked and knocked out.
When he woke, the attacker was gone and he found his wife dead in another room.
The killing became known as the Aramaho murder. Even after police offered a cash reward for information, no one was ever arrested.
Allen Cornell
November 5, 1927 Further details unavailable
Elsie Walker
October 5,1928 Auckland
Elsie, 16, disappeared from the home of her uncle and aunt at Papamoa, near Tauranga and her body was found five days later in scrub at a disused quarry in Tamaki.
Elsie had a fractured skull but no cause of death could be determined - a Coroner later ruled that there was no evidence to show whether the blow on the head had been deliberate.
Elsie Walker was murdered on her way home from school. Image/NZ Truth 8 August 1929
Later, it would emerge that a car owned by her aunt and uncle also went missing at the same time as Elsie.
Her cousin, William Alfred Bayly, 28, was considered a suspect and investigated extensively by police but never charged.
Bayly was later hanged for the murder of his neighbours at Huntly.
