Questions linger over suspects as Bentley murder remains unsolved
A man says he has felt under suspicion since detectives more than two decades ago asked if he was involved in the murder of Ashburton teenager Kirsty Bentley.
Brian Ryder, 48, is among nearly 450 persons of interest in the unsolved homicide but strenuously denies any involvement. Ryder, who lived in the same street as the teenager, does not know why he came to the attention of police. Officers say people were nominated for an array of reasons, including malice. Kirsty, 15, left her family’s home in South St, Hampstead, with her dog, Abby, about 3pm on New Year’s Eve 1998. The next morning, Abby was found tied to a tree by the Ashburton River near a track Kirsty was known to walk regularly. Kirsty’s underwear was on a bush nearby.
Two cannabis growers, Brendan Wanhalla and John Watts, stumbled upon the teenager’s body about 50km away in a Rakaia Gorge forestry block about two weeks later. She had suffered a single blow to the back of the head.
Led by Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, the homicide investigation zeroed in on Kirsty’s father, Sid, and her brother, John.
However, this week, as police announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer, new inquiry head Detective Inspector Greg Murton said he was pretty comfortable Sid and John were not involved.
It was more likely Kirsty was raped and murdered by a stranger.
Murton believes the killer was a lone male who smoked or grew cannabis and was living in Ashburton at the time.
His new theory has been met with mixed reaction by detectives who worked on the inquiry in its early years. One, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they
were pleased the focus had shifted away from the Bentleys.
Too much time was spent on Sid and John, and not enough on other suspects, the officer said. ‘‘I think there still remain suspects that ... deserve further attention.’’ Another detective who worked on the inquiry said they ‘‘would not be confident eliminating [John and Sid]’’. ‘‘I know there are persons of interest/suspects who have not been categorically eliminated and ... [Greg Williams] was never blind to that.’’
Williams said the investigation was ‘‘massive’’ and thorough. Of the nearly 450 persons of interest, 311 were eliminated. Williams said some people received greater attention because their actions warranted it.
In 1998, Ryder was boarding at his brother’s home, up the road from the Bentleys. He said that some time after the teenager was killed, detectives turned up and asked the pair if they were involved.
‘‘We were sort of freaking out a bit ... We said we have got nothing to do with it. We are not murderers.’’ Ryder said that on the afternoon Kirsty disappeared, he and his brother visited a sibling in Cameron St, Ashburton. The officers said they would be in touch if they needed anything further.
Other residents faced similar questioning, he said. Ryder is still troubled by the encounter. He had not heard from police since but had often felt like he was under suspicion. Murton would not say if Ryder remained a person of interest. ‘‘I won’t comment on any individuals.’’
Stuff previously reported the names of two other men questioned by investigators. One was farmworker Barry Hepburn, then 52, now deceased, who lived near the Bentleys, and was known to walk his dog along the river trail. Hepburn had the mental age of a young teen. He did not show up for work on New Year’s Day. Rakaia resident Charlie Smith, who repainted his Ford Falcon car after Kirsty’s disappearance and was said to have boasted of a role in her death, was also looked at.
Anyone with information about Kirsty Bentley’s murder is asked to contact police via 105 and to reference Operation Kirsty, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.