Mayhem, murder ... maybe

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, which is 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.

‘‘They gave a scenario of events in which they said he had sold me drugs and that he had come back and stolen the drugs back off me, so I ordered a hit,’’ she said.

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.

Maney continues to maintain her innocence. She says she never even knew Fuller-Sandys.

Gone Fishing will be 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