Witness says she lied at murder hit trials

A woman twice convicted of ordering the killing of Deane Fuller-Sandys is seeking a third trial after a witness said she lied in court under police pressure.

Gail Maney, now 37, was first convicted of her part in the murder of Mr Fuller-Sandys in 1999.

She won a new trial on appeal, but was again convicted the following year.

For 10 years it was thought that 21-year-old Mr Fuller-Sandys died after being washed off rocks at Whatipu, south of Auckland, in August 1989 but the investigation was reopened when information about his assassination in a West Auckland garage started to leak out.

Maney, a former prostitute, was alleged to have ordered a "hit" on Mr Fuller-Sandys, believing he was responsible for stealing her drugs in a burglary at her Henderson home.

He was lured to the garage of the house where double murderer Stephen Stone shot him with a handgun.

Stone then gave the gun to a number of other men in the room and ordered them to fire into the body.

According to the Crown, this was to ensure that they never spoke about the incident.

One of those present in the garage was teenage prostitute Leah Stephens. Six days later Stone slit her throat to keep her quiet.

The Court of Appeal in Auckland this week heard testimony from a witness, Tania Wilson, now known as Brook, who claimed she gave false evidence at Maney's trials implicating her in the killing of Mr Fuller-Sandys. She said the police put her under pressure.

Defence counsel Peter Kaye said: "One of the most significant witnesses, Tania Wilson, who gave evidence of Gail Maney organising the hit and carrying it out in the garage, has now retracted her evidence."

He said that the police pressured Ms Wilson and showed her statements from other people about what had happened.

But prosecutor Kieran Raftery said that Ms Wilson's original story was true and she was now telling lies.

There were other witnesses who corroborated her evidence about the murder and the motive.

Maney has served five years of her life sentence and will be eligible for parole in another five.

The appeal court reserved its decision.

The case

* Deane Fuller-Sandys, long believed to have drowned, was in fact assassinated in a Henderson garage in 1989.

* Gail Maney was twice found guilty of organising the killing.

* A witness who implicated Maney has now recanted her evidence in the Court of Appeal.