By 3 News online staff
Controversial author Ian Wishart has defended allegations he’s “whistling in the wind” with his new book on the 1989 murders of two Swedish tourists.
Mr Wishart alleges mental health patient Huia George Foley made a deathbed confession to the murders of Heidi Paakkonen and Urban Hoglin, before passing away in 2002.
He says the dead man's family told him about the confession, which was confirmed just last week by a nurse who claims she treated the new suspect before he died.
Mr Wishart says evidence compiled in his book, Missing Pieces, sheds doubt on David Tamihere’s conviction for the murders.
“It doesn't mean to say that he couldn't have done it, because clearly he had prior form, but the police case doesn't stack up,” he told 3 News.
Mr Wishart admits a retrial would be difficult as Foley and many of the witnesses are now dead.
Nevertheless, Mr Wishart says the case is an important dissection of the New Zealand justice system.
“I think anytime you expose a flaw in the justice system, yeah, you can say it’s whistling in the wind, but on the other hand it’s about protecting the future,” he says.
“[...] If the police and the courts system can’t get it right from here on in then we all have to be worried.”
He suggests police convicted an “easy collar” and claims the evidence against Tamihere would not stack up in a modern courtroom.
Watch the full interview with Ian Wishart.
3 News
source: newshub archive
