Old New Zealand

...Most Notorious Murderers...

Home   Crime   Entertainment   History   Kiwiana   Maori   Sport

Links   Contact   Forum

1. David Gray

On November 13th, 1990, the small peaceful seaside community of Aramoana at the head of the Otago Harbour came under seige as the reclusive David Gray embarked on a killing spree the would leave 13 people dead. Gray's mental state had deteriorated during the period up to the time of the massacre and his rampage appears to have been triggered by a neighbourhood dispute.

- Crime.co.nz - The Aramoana Massacre
- Out of the Blue - Robert Sarkies dramatisation of the events at Aramoana
2. Minnie Dean

Minnie Dead was the notorious "Winton Baby Farmer" and the only woman ever hanged in New Zealand and the only client of renowned Dunedin barrister Alfred Charles Hanlon to recieve the death penalty. She was convicted for the murder of infants under the care of her adoption agency. Minnie Dean went to the gallows on 12 August 1895. She went calmly but protested her innocence to the end.

- Crime.co.nz - Minnie Dean
- Encyclopedia of New Zealand - The Winton baby farmer.
- Dictionary of NZ Biography - Dean, Williamina 1844 - 1895

3. Richard Burgess

Richard Burgess was transported to Australia at the age of 16 after stealing a loaf of bread. After his release he returned to a life of crime and in 1862 he arrived at the Otago Goldfields where he teamed up with Thomas Noon. Burgess and Noon received three and a half years hard labour for a robbery at Weatherstones. On their release they headed for the West Coast, formed a gang and embarked on a crime spree which culminated in the murder of five men on the Maungatapu track. On 5th October 1866, three of the gang, Burgess, Noone (now Thomas Kelly and William (alias Philip) Levy were executed in Nelson for the murders after another member of the gang, Joseph Sullivan, turned crucial evidence for the crown.

- NZ History Online - The Maungatapu murders

4. Dan Cooper

Newlands couple Daniel and Martha Cooper, who lived on a small farm on Newlands Road, were well respected in the community and at the Johnsonville church which they attended regularly. Daniel Cooper had been performing illegal abortions at his office in Lambton Quay but also offered to adopt out children for young umarried girls who preferred not to go through with the dangerous surgery. Three infant corpses were found on the Coopers' property, Daniel Cooper was convcted of their murders and hanged at the Terrace Gaol on June 16, 1923.

- Crime.co.nz - The 'Newlands Baby Farm Murders'

5. Terry Clark

The "Mr Asia" drug ring left a trail of bodies in it's wake coming to a bloody end, with the discovery of Aucklander Marty Johnstone's handless, mutilated body in an English quarry. Terry Clark a.k.a. Alexander Sinclair, died in prison of natural causes though there is some doubt about how natural those causes were. The drug millions were never recovered and are rumoured to be buried in the bush somewhere.

- Lancashire Evening Post - The Killing of Mr Asia
- New Zealand Herald - In crime, it pays not to talk
- The New Zealand Listener - The Fall of Mr Asia

Recently an Australia's channel 9 TV serial "Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities" has focussed on Terry Clark and the "Mr Asia" drug ring. The broadcast has received mixed reviews.

- Mr Asia journalist appalled by Underbelly

6. Thomas Hall

- Encyclopedia of New Zealand - The Hall Poisoning Cases, 1886-7

7. George Harry
8. Joseph Burns
9. William Bayley
10. Phyliss Freeman

Home   Crime   Entertainment   History   Kiwiana   Maori   Sport

Links   Contact   Forum

copyright oldnewzealand.info 2007