The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision in the case of convicted double murderer David Tamihere, who was found guilty in 1990 of killing Swedish backpackers, Urban Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen.
The case was sent back to the Court of Appeal by the former Governor-General, who in 2020 declared a Royal prerogative of mercy in respect of Tamihere’s murder convictions.
Justice French said it would take significant time for the panel of Court of Appeal judges to release its decision because of all the evidence put forward over the two-day hearing.
"I can't give an accurate timetable, but it won't be this year, it will be in the new year," Justice French said.
False evidence used in Tamihere's 1990 trial led to the case being brought back to the court. (Source: 1News)
During the hearing Tamihere's counsel James Carruthers argued that the Crown prosecutors in his 1990 trial had "routinely called on fabricated prison informant evidence to prop up contentious eyewitness identification evidence".
In the original trial police used testimony from three inmates, including convicted murderer Roberto Conchie Harris, who claimed Tamihere had admitted to sexually assaulting the Swedes before killing them.
In 2017, Harris was found guilty of perjury.
Crown counsel Rebecca Thomson today reiterated the original case should not have used testimony from Harris, but it does not change the guilty verdict for Tamihere.
“This court can be positively sure of Tamihere’s guilt based on what was presented at trial,” Thomson said.
“Only he can be the killer.”
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