Today Brad Callaghan was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 13 years and eight months for the murder of his ex-partner Carmen Thomas.
The sentence ends a case that started when Ms Thomas was reported missing in June 2010.
Investigations eventually led Police to Callaghan who was arrested in September 2010.
---
2005
- Callaghan and Ms Thomas separate. They have a son together, Jack, and share custody of the child.
2010
June 25 - Security cameras show Ms Thomas out in Auckland’s Newmarket accompanied by two female friends.
June 26 - Her Nissan Pulsar is seen parked in Sylvan St East for several hours just after midnight.
June 27 - Ms Thomas’ bank account is used for the last time. CCTV footage shows her at Greenlane Countdown.
June 28 - Neighbours report hearing screams from Ms Thomas’ Remuera home. Callaghan visits neighbours and tells them she was sick and had vomited blood.
July 1 - Ms Thomas is seen alive for the last time
July 3 - A text is sent from Ms Thomas’ phone to her boss - the owner of a Pakuranga men’s club.
July 13 - Ms Thomas’ car, a black Nissan Pulsar, is found in Hamilton. She is officially reported missing to Police after she failed to pick up her son.
July 23 - Ms Thomas’ mother, Teresa Scott, flies to New Zealand from South Africa.
July 29 - Police Inspector Mark Benefield, head of the investigation team of 30, says the missing case has taken a “sinister twist”.
August 6 - Ms Thomas’ ex-partner, Callaghan, speaks for the first time since her death saying that he hoped police find her soon and that their son misses his mother.
August 15 - Police admit for the first time they are treating the case as a homicide, due to blood being found in her car.
August 16 - Attention turns to a wheelie bin missing from Ms Thomas’ Remuera home.
August 18 - Police search Whitford, a rural area 30km southeast of central Auckland, for Ms Thomas’ body, after a new report her car was spotted there around the time she went missing.
August 19 - Police visit the workplace of Ms Thomas’ ex-partner, Brad Callaghan, in Parnell.
August 20 - Police believe Ms Thomas’ body to have been dumped in the bush, southeast of Auckland.
September 2 - The investigation leads Police to track the movements of two men in Waikato - both men knew Ms Thomas.
September 18 - Police confirm they found Ms Thomas’ missing wheelie bin in Auckland on September 1.
September 20 - Police search a construction site in Auckland for more clues and request permission to dig up concrete at the site.
September 21 - Callaghan is charged with the murder of Ms Carmen. Police search his Remuera home for evidence.
September 22 - Police find items of Ms Thomas’ clothing at construction site. They say more arrests are likely.
September 24 - Attention turns to finding evidence of an accomplice in the murder. Police continue to search the building site where Callaghan has been working.
September 25 - Police investigate a boat owned by a friend of Callaghan which they believed was used in an attempt to dispose of Ms Thomas’ body at sea. Police believe Ms Thomas’ body to be located in the Waitakere Ranges.
September 26 - Police start to interview the couple’s child, Jack, to get more information. Reports emerge that eyewitnesses saw a blood covered man leaving Ms Thomas’ house two days after she was last seen alive.
October 1 - Police announce they have found the remains of Ms Thomas in the Waitakere Ranges.
October 2 - Ms Thomas’ remains, which were found in plastic containers, are removed from a makeshift grave in the Waitakere Ranges.
October 10 - Callaghan’s father, Phillip Callaghan, says he is “thunderstruck” over her death.
October 13 - Ms Thomas’ funeral is held in Greenlane Christian Centre.
December 19 - Callaghan is allowed to have his son Jack visit him in prison for the first time.
2011
February 8 - Callaghan appears at the Auckland District Court.
May 25 - Callaghan pleads non guilty in the Auckland High Court.
May 26 - Callaghan faces a fresh charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
July 15 - A summary of the police case reveals that at 8.45am on July 29, 2010, Callaghan struck Ms Thomas with multiple blows to the head causing death. He then text a friend telling him to “bring three rubbish bags and a bottle of kerosene”. Over the ensuing period Callaghan dismembered Ms Thomas’ body in eight pieces in order to prepare it for disposal.
September 17 - Callaghan fails to get bail.
September 20 - It is revealed that the son of Callaghan and Ms Thomas is living under a false name in a different town.
November 25 - In a surprise move, Callaghan pleads guilty to the murder of Ms Thomas.
November 26 - It is revealed a friend of Callaghan facing a possible accessory to murder charge gave crucial evidence to Police in return for immunity.
2012
March 30 - Callaghan is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 13 years and eight months.
3 News
source: newshub archive
