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You are here: Home / Miscarriages of Justice / No independent inquiry in Crewe Murders

No independent inquiry in Crewe Murders

November 29, 2010 By Alice

CreweJustice Minister Simon Power has turned down calls for an independent inquiry into the 40-year-old murder mystery of the Crewe Family.

“In response, Mr Power said he understood the interest in seeking closure, but his hands were tied. Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues can direct the police to reopen the case. Due to the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and police, responsibility for deciding on any new investigation of the case rests with the police.”

According to the Constitution, indeed a minster cannot order the police to reopen a closed case but nothing stands in his or her way to order an independent inquiry. At this point, the Crewe Murders are under review by a senior police investigator, Detective Superintendent Andy Lovelock. However, he will not be looking for new suspects.

Jeannette & Harvey Crewe were murdered in 1970, New Zealand. They had one child, Rochelle. While her parents were murdered, Rochelle was apparently taken care off by someone or, some people. In 2010, these murders were reviewed. However, fingerprint records from the home of the murder victims have gone missing.

Arthur Allen Thomas was convicted for this double homicide but was also pardoned, and a commission of inquiry found that police planted crucial evidence to get his conviction. The Review Report about the Crewe Murders was published in 2014.

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Related

Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Ballistics, DNA, Forensics, Gun Fire, Jeannette and Harvey Crewe, Miscarriage of Justice, New Zealand, Police Misconduct, Rochelle Crewe

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  1. "All the Commissioner's Men" by Chris Birt says:
    May 16, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    […] of Arthur Allen Thomas or, to the call from their only child Rochelle Crewe to finally get an independent review of her parents’ murder cases. It goes beyond […]

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Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler
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