The Judge’s husband and the killer
August 31st, 2004 at 7:01 pm by David FarrarI had been thinking about blogging about the strange circumstances surrounding Philip Edwards (killer of David McNee) not being prosecuted for an incident at a Judge’s home a year ago, despite a DNA match. McNee may be alive if there had been a prosecution
I wasn’t sure how to blog my thoughts, without risking defamation. And when a Judge and her husband are involed, one wants to be very careful.
But Winston Peters has said in Parliament, what many people have been asking privately. He has suggested that the police didn’t lay charges because Edwards, who was a known male sex worker, had been invited to the house.
I feel rather sorry for Judge Coral and Peter Shaw at this scrutiny, but McNee is dead, arguably because Shaw asked for charges against Edwards to be dropped.
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August 31st, 2004 at 7:54 pm
I wasn’t worried too much about defamation when I blogged the topic last week. If the victim didn’t want to testify at a criminal trial, then he sure as hell would not want to testify at a civil trial. For me, the real problem was finding the right balance of tactfulness since the victim doesn’t need any more public grief. He may warrant some marital grief but that’s not really the public’s business to know.
Vote:August 31st, 2004 at 8:29 pm
Saying McNee is dead because charges were dropped is stretching it a bit. At the time no one knew he was going to commit murder.
Hindsight is wonderful as they say.
Vote:August 31st, 2004 at 8:29 pm
Saying McNee is dead because charges were dropped is stretching it a bit. At the time no one knew he was going to commit murder.
Hindsight is wonderful as they say.
Vote:September 1st, 2004 at 2:55 pm
I find this situation quite incredible. The offender confessed. His dna was found at the scene.For anyone to claim that is insufficient evidence is rediculous. For a Judge’s husband to ask for the case to be withdrawn because he was traumatised is incongruous. The Judge would expect children or multiple rape victims togive evidence in her court. The husband would not risk exposure an application for suppression of detailsto be suppressed is readily granted daily..Baxter
Vote:September 2nd, 2004 at 3:23 pm
It’s bizarre to blame anyone for Edwards comitting murder because they didn’t press charges for burglary. Besides if the prurient assumption you imply is correct Edwards would have been on the property legally and therefore guilty (at most) of theft rather than burglary – and there’d be an innocent explanation for DNA evidence.
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