To catch a killer
A local crime series shines a light on the place of science in solving high-profile murders.
True crime has never been more popular, but what does that say about us? Simon Morton, presenter of Forensics NZ (Prime, Sunday, 8.30pm) isn’t sure.
“I guess the randomness of it,” he suggests. “I think we’re intrigued by what one human will do to another.”
The series, entering its second season, explores highprofile murders, weaving its stories from the twin strands of police investigation and forensic science. Morton, who narrates, turns up every now and then in a white coat to discuss an aspect of the science with an expert.
The episodes pull together multiple threads of a police investigation to build a picture of how the case was solved. Forensic science is critical in solving crime, but it also has another function: it is important in terms of the judicial process.
“I think the forensic information probably made sure that a just sentence was passed down by a jury,” says Morton. “It enabled a jury to understand what led up to the crime, and why something like DNA at a location means that someone is 1000 million times more likely to be Mr X than any other member of the population.”
The series also shines a light on how police and scientists
work together on cases that may take weeks. The first case is the 2007 murder of deaf woman Emma Agnew in Christchurch. Agnew’s car had been set on fire, destroying evidence, and her body wasn’t found for 12 days after her disappearance.
Other episodes feature the murder of Tony Stanlake, whose handless and nearly decapitated body was discovered washed up at Red Rocks in Wellington in 2006; the death of Zhi Ping You in Christchurch’s Port Hills in 2002; and the murder of Rae Portman in Auckland in 2012.
Despite the brutality of the deaths, dramatic recreations are carefully done, and the series is tasteful, says Morton. “It’s not really about blood and gore and it doesn’t glamorise the killing.”
But there are times, he says, when it has been quite hard work, “and the directors have said it’s been hard on the crew. I think the family interviews are quite harrowing, because people are reliving it.” Nevertheless, the series fills the gap between the crime and the conviction.
“A lot of these cases were quite high-profile, so people wonder what really happened. The media do a great job of covering the story, but there’s a void when it comes to explaining the minutiae of what happened.”