What happened
Harvey and Jeannette Crewe disappeared from their Pukekawa farmhouse in 1970 and were later found dead, leaving behind an infant daughter.
The investigation
Farmer Arthur Allan Thomas was twice convicted, but serious questions emerged about police evidence and the handling of a cartridge case central to the prosecution.
What the courts or investigators concluded
Thomas received a royal pardon in 1979 after serving years in prison. Later inquiries criticized aspects of the original investigation, and no one else has been convicted.
Why the case remains significant
The Crewe case remains one of New Zealand’s most famous unsolved murders and one of its most important examples of concern about wrongful conviction and investigative integrity.
Case context
Crime by Region organizes cases geographically so readers can move from one file to other investigations from the same country. For unresolved or contested cases, the wording above reflects the distinction between confirmed events, investigative theories and findings actually established in court.