Tamihere court decision puts the case back at square one

The RNZ podcast episode examines the landmark Supreme Court decision that quashed David Tamahiri's 1990 murder convictions in the 1989 disappearance of Swedish backpackers Heidi Parkinen and Urban Hoglin, nearly 37 years after the crime. Despite no bodies being found at the time of his original trial, Tamahiri was convicted based on jailhouse snitch testimony and eyewitness accounts. Over decades, key evidence unraveled—Urban's body was found 70km from the original crime scene, and crucially, his watch was still on the remains, contradicting claims that Tamahiri had taken it. A 2017 private prosecution proved one jailhouse snitch lied, and a 2023 affidavit from property developer Sir Bob Jones alleged that lead detective John Hughes confessed to framing Tamahiri. After the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in 2024 with a new theory, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned it, ruling the trial was fundamentally unfair and requiring a retrial. The decision highlights systemic resistance to admitting error, with justice only advancing through persistent efforts by journalists, campaigners, and whistleblowers. The case now returns to the Crown, which must decide whether to pursue a retrial against a now 72-year-old man, amid concerns over lost evidence, deceased witnesses, and the emotional toll on victims’ families in Sweden.