Cris and Cru Kahui homicides

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The Cris and Cru Kahui homicides refers to the murders of twin brothers Christopher Arepa and Cru Omeka Kahui (20 March 2006 – 18 June 2006), two New Zealand infants who died in

Chris and Cru Kahui were the two survivors of triplets born prematurely at 29 weeks by emergency caesarean section on 20 March 2006^[3] at the National Women's Hospital in Grafton to parents Christopher Sonny Kahui and Macsyna Pono King. At the time of their birth, King was 29 and her partner Kahui was 21, and they were already the parents of a 13-month-old son, Shane, who was born in 2005.^[4] Prior to that, King, who was born in South Auckland, had already had three other children in two previous relationships, and met Kahui through his father when she was 27 and he 19.^[4] However, the relationship was not always smooth, with a range of risk factors contributing to tension and instability for the couple prior to, and after, the arrival of their children.^[5]

After their birth, Cris and Cru spent six weeks at the Kidz First

Cris and Cru were ultimately taken off life support, with Cru being the first to die at 5 a.m. on 18 June. Cris died at 6:45 p.m. later in the day. The bodies were released to the family on 21 June, taken to the Manurewa marae for a tangihanga (funeral rites), and were buried at the Manukau City cemetery on 24 June.^[12]

Investigation

The deaths of Cris and Cru resulted in an initial serious assault investigation by the

After refusing to speak to police in the week after the death, police finally went to residences of the Kahui family on 27 June. At least four family members, including King and an aunt,[19] were escorted to police stations.^[20] By 4 July, at least twenty extended family members were questioned, as well as ninety medical practitioners and staff who were in contact with the twins.^[21] Forensic scientists removed items such as clothing from the Kahui residences.^[22] By September, police said that the family were no longer "stone-walling" their inquiries, but a prima facie case had yet to be established.^[23] Sunday News reported on 17 September that a list of suspects was down to three and an arrest was imminent.^[24] This was followed by a police statement nine days later stating that they now knew who was responsible for the deaths. However, other family members could still be charged with related crimes.^[25]

Two half-sisters of King appeared on

The 1 October edition of the Star-Times published an interview with Kahui, who said that he did not kill his sons, but if Police could not find anyone else, "I go down for something I didn't do".[31] Investigators called Kahui's interview with the police on 3 October a "major development".^[32] On 26 October, a "carload of detectives" had gone to several addresses looking for Kahui, who was brought in for questioning. At 10 p.m., it was announced in a press conference that a 21-year-old man had been arrested and charged with the murder of the infants, and would appear in the Manukau District Court the next day. No other family members faced charges with relation to the deaths.^[33]

Contrary to this, the Sunday News reported on 31 December that, according to an unnamed source, a second arrest was expected. Neither the exact charges that would be laid nor the relationship of the person to the infants were revealed.^[34] Three weeks later the Sunday News said four people involved in the investigation had been summoned to appear at the Manukau District Court on 24 January. Sources told the newspaper that the new charges relate to dead infants and a pre-school child. One of those to be charged was King, the mother of Chris and Cru.^[35] None of these charges eventuated. According to the Herald on Sunday, a Microsoft Word file containing the press release announcing the arrest of Kahui had actually been created five days earlier, and the last edit was the day before the arrest. In the same article, the Herald reported police were questioning whether Kahui was actually the biological father of the infants.^[36] DNA tests later confirmed that he was the father.^[37]

Court appearances

Kahui appeared in the Number One court of the Manukau District Court on 27 October for a two-minute hearing, where he was formally charged with murder. He was asked not to plead; however, outside the court, Kahui's lawyer, Lorraine Smith, said her client would "fight the charges".

Kahui was found not guilty on Thursday 22 May 2008, after only one minute of deliberation by the jury. The officer who led the police investigations into the murders, Detective Inspector John Tims, said he was "disappointed" at the verdict,[43] finding "no evidence to support a charge against any other person and that includes the mother, Macsyna King".^[44] Tims acknowledged the prosecutor, who had "said in his opening and closing address that there is no new evidence to support a charge being laid against the mother, Macsyna King".^[43] No charges were laid against King.^[43] Kahui's lawyer has threatened to lodge a complaint with the Police Complaints Authority over police handling of the prosecution of her client for the murder of the twins.^[45]

Coroner's report

Coroner Gary Evans released a report into the deaths of the children in July 2012. He found that the twins had suffered the brain injuries which led to their deaths during the afternoon or early evening of 12 June 2006, at a time "whilst they were in the sole custody, care and control of their father", Kahui. He said there was no evidence or fact to support that injuries being caused by King. Kahui, who gave evidence to the coroner's inquest, attempted to prevent the publication of the report.^[46]

Significance

The case highlighted the fact that Māori children are more than twice as likely to die as a result of abuse than non-Māori