Detective Superintendent Andy Lovelock is reviewing the original homicide inquiry into the deaths of Jeannette and Harvey Crewe at Pukekawa, south of Auckland, in 1970; after their daughter broke her silence to ask police to re-investigate.
Rochelle Crewe was disappointed with the police decision to review rather than reopen the file and Prime Minister John Key's refusal to launch an independent inquiry into New Zealand's most infamous cold case. But 12 months after Ms Crewe spoke publicly for the first time in 40 years, Det Supt Lovelock, Auckland's top detective, has also appealed to the public to help police find answers for her.
"I am extremely keen to hear from anyone who may have information concerning the murder of Harvey and Jeannette Crewe in June 1970 at their Pukekawa farm. This may be the last opportunity for police to consider what you can tell us."
Det Supt Lovelock said the original homicide investigation was being analysed by modern police tools. The assessment was a painstaking process looking at material from a range of sources, including paperwork from the 1971 and 1973 High Court trials which led to Arthur Allan Thomas twice being convicted.
Mr Thomas was pardoned in 1979 after nine years in jail and a 1980 royal commission concluded that Detective Inspector Bruce Hutton and Detective Len Johnston buried a shellcase from Mr Thomas' rifle in the Crewes' garden to link him to the crime.
Det Supt Lovelock said paper documents had been copied into an electronic database essential in managing 90,000 pages.
"Every document is being read and pertinent material extracted for analysis. Any new or additional information passed to police will be evaluated."
Ms Crewe said police had replied to her letters twice to say the review would take "months", without stating a deadline.
"While I appreciated that this process would take a while, I do feel that I have been very patient letting them get on with the job at hand. However, my original fear was that without an independent body overseeing the process, the whole process would lack accountability and credibility.
"To date, this proves true, because it seems that they can take as long as they like to do the review, and without someone independent there pushing it along or setting target dates, doesn't make the police accountable to anyone but themselves." The homicide is one of New Zealand's greatest mysteries.
"A terrible bloody mess" was what Len Demler, Jeannette Crewe's father, found in the farmhouse. He also found Rochelle crying in her cot.
Doctors who examined her said she could not have been abandoned for five days since the murders, so someone must have fed her. Witnesses reported seeing a blonde woman at the house who was never identified.
• Anyone with information should call Det Supt Andy Lovelock on (09) 529-05658 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-0111.
