Court overturns convictions of Gail Maney and others in Deane Fuller-Sandys case

Gail Maney told NZME that today’s decision was a relief.

“I’m still processing it and trying to deal with it.”

Having waited 27 years for this decision, she admitted that she felt anxious before it was made.

She said she was confused by the court’s decision to allow Stone’s case to be retried.

“Basically nothing like this happened, we are all innocent people and it doesn’t make any sense to me. He doesn’t deserve to be there (in prison) any more than I do,” she said.

Maney said she now plans to take some time and put things into perspective.

The Court of Appeal’s decision was issued after an August hearing during which all four pleaded for acquittal. Alternatively, lawyers for Gail Maney and Stone sought a stay of prosecution to prevent them from being prosecuted again.

At trial, the Crown admitted that there had been a miscarriage of justice. The Court also agreed that it was not in the interests of justice to order a retrial of the case of Colin Maney and Henriksen and therefore an acquittal would be appropriate. However, he demanded a retrial of the Gail Maney and Stone case.

The Crown’s case

Deane Fuller-Sandys was 21 years old when he disappeared in August 1989.

He told his parents, with whom he lived, that he was going fishing. He took with him fishing rods, bait, a fishing backpack, a “dolphin torch” and a can of CRC. The next day, his car was found in a parking lot at Whatipu Beach.

Three days later, his sister found a “dolphin torch”, a CRC can and a blue soap dish on Whatipu Beach. His family identified the items as belonging to Fuller-Sandys, but his body was never found.

The Crown alleged that Gail Maney ordered Stone to kill Fuller-Sandys because he had broken into her flat on Larnoch Rd, West Auckland, stealing drugs, money and leather goods.

Police say Fuller-Sandys called the apartment on his way fishing on Aug. 21, 1989, and was shot in the garage by Stone before the gun was turned over to numerous witnesses who were present and who were encouraged to shoot Fuller-Sandys. Sandys.

They then allegedly put the body in the boot of Colin Maney’s car and drove him to Woodhill Forest, where the Crown says he was buried, before parking his car at a fishing spot at Whatipu Beach, where he was later found.

Fearing that one of those present – young prostitute Leah Stephens – would start talking, Stone allegedly raped and killed her six days later.

Stephens’ body was found three years later by a dog walker buried near Muriwai Golf Club.

Trials from 1999 and 2000

The trial began on March 1, 1999 in the High Court in Auckland. The Crown’s case relied on the testimony of four witnesses – two men and two women – who were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against Maney and Stone. Three of them have permanent name hiding.

They all denied involvement in the murder and claimed that Fuller-Sandys drowned while fishing in Whatipu. Stone also denied any involvement in Stephens’ rape and murder.

At the hearing, Detective Mark Franklin told the court that no witnesses were presented with statements from other witnesses.

However, the decision stated that the Crown now admits that Detective Franklin’s representations were not correct and that the failure to disclose his communications with a lawyer representing one of the witnesses in the case contributed to the miscarriages of justice that occurred in the 1999 and 2000 trials.

In March 1999, Stone and Maney were convicted of the murder of Fuller-Sandys. Colin Maney and Henriksen were convicted of accessory after the fact. Stone was also convicted of raping and murdering Stephens.

Following their conviction, Gail Maney and Henriksen successfully appealed and were retried in May 2000. The Crown again relied on four key eyewitnesses, although this time they were examined in detail. Maney and Henriksen also gave testimony in which they denied any involvement in Fuller-Sandys’ murder.

Decision of the Court of Appeal

In its decision, the court said the Crown’s case had changed significantly since the 1999 and 2000 trials, when it relied on the testimony of four witnesses implicating all four in Fuller-Sandys’ murder.

Two of these witnesses have already withdrawn their testimony. Because their testimony cannot be relied upon, “there is currently no evidence linking Ms. Maney to Mr. Fuller-Sandys’ murder,” the decision said.

It also said the Crown accepted there was no likelihood of further DNA testing being carried out in relation to Gail Maney and were unable to explain what further investigations might implicate her.

The Court of Appeal found there was no need to hear her case after the Crown accepted that, as things stood, there was no longer admissible evidence to link her to Fuller-Sandys’ murder.

Despite the Crown’s concession, he argued that a retrial was necessary and the decision should be left to Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock.

However, in its decision, the Court of Appeal disagreed that due to the lack of evidence against her, the Crown should not now be able to “fill in the gaps” in the evidence.

It also said it was inappropriate to leave the cases unresolved in the case of Gail Maney, who has already faced two trials and served her sentence. The decision stated that if a parole officer was breached, his or her parole could be revoked. The length and complexity of the trial and the time that had passed since Fuller-Sandys’ disappearance also weighed in favor of ordering a new trial.

“The only factor in favor of a retrial is the seriousness of the offense, but in our judgment this relativeness is far outweighed by the lack of evidence against Ms. Maney and the factors we have summarized,” it said.

In relation to Colin Maney and Henriksen, the Crown argued that although there was still some evidence pointing to the guilt of Colin Maney and, to some extent, Henriksen, the Crown was correct in accepting that verdicts of not guilty should be entered in their case.

The Court of Appeal agreed. It concluded that, given the time that had passed since Fuller-Sandys’ disappearance and the time that had passed since they had served their sentences, acquittal was appropriate. .

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter based in Wellington. She worked as a journalist for 20 years, including: in the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently, she worked as a media advisor at the Ministry of Justice.