The David Bain Case – when they get it wrong
In 1994, David Bain was charged and jailed after five members of his immediate family were shot dead in their home in Dunedin, New Zealand. The bodies of his mother Margaret, and his teenage sisters Arawa, Laniet and brother Stephen were in their beds. The body of his father, Robin, was in the lounge.
Renowned as one of the most complex murder trials in New Zealand history, David’s defense claimed it was Robin who killed his family, then committed suicide.
In 1995, David was given a life sentence. He maintained his innocence, appealing numerous times before, in 2007, the Privy Council held a five-day hearing and quashed David’s murder conviction, concluding “a substantial miscarriage of justice”.
After a three-month retrial in 2009, David was found not guilty on five charges. He had served more than 13 years in jail.
