New podcast investigates murder case

Gail Maney was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the murder of a man in 1989. But she says she never even met him.

Stuff and RNZ have teamed up to produce the true crime podcast Gone Fishing. The eight-part podcast, released today, asks serious questions about the police investigation that led to Maney serving a life sentence for murder. Questions are also raised about police tactics to secure witness statements and the reliability of jury trials.

Maney was arrested for the murder of Deane Fuller-Sandys after he was said to have burgled her home in Henderson, West Auckland nine years earlier.

The police claimed Stephen Stone had carried out the killing.

But Maney has maintained her innocence since her arrest, and has spent 15 years in prison. She is currently serving out the rest of her life sentence on parole.

Stone is still serving a life sentence, and will only appear in front of the Parole Board again in late 2019.

Fuller-Sandys was a 21-year-old tyre fitter from West Auckland who disappeared on August 21, 1989. His body has never been found.

Until Maney and Stone were arrested, it was believed FullerSandys had disappeared while fishing off rocks at a wild west coast beach.

Maney continues to maintain her innocence. She says she never even knew Fuller-Sandys. In fact, she doesn’t even think he was murdered.

‘‘When I was charged with murder . . . that was the first time I’d heard the name Deane Fuller-Sandys,’’ she said.

Gone Fishing is available from today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or any other podcast app. To find out more about the case, visit www.stuff.co.nz/gonefishing

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