Almost 35 years ago, two Swedish tourists disappeared without a trace in New Zealand. The man who was sentenced to life for the double murder will now be tried again and can now be fully acquitted of the charges.
– Att now it turns out that they got the wrong man – it doesn’t look so good for the New Zealand police, says Love Lyssarides, journalist at Sveriges Radio.
Now the big murder mystery of the Swedish tourists Urban Höglin and Heidi Pakkonen takes a new turn. In 1989, the tourists disappeared from the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand and the following year, 35-year-old David Wayne Tamihere was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder.
He has been on parole since 2010 but can now be fully cleared of the charges.
– Because so many important parts of this case have fallen apart, he has now been granted a raise, says Love Lyssarides, journalist at Sveriges Radio.
Controversial court case
It was in April 1989 that Urban Höglin and Heidi Pakkonen made it to Thames on the Coromandel Peninsula by car. Getting around the peninsula is a three-day journey – but after four days the tourists disappear without a trace. The car that was found abandoned also became an important piece of the puzzle in the investigation into finding them.
– This is the beginning of perhaps New Zealand’s biggest and most controversial legal case.
It was precisely the abandoned car that led the police to David Wayne Tamihere, who in turn said that he was a car thief and had nothing to do with the Swedes.
– For the police, it has been super important to catch the right person and they were very proud to have caught him. That it would now turn out that they got the wrong man – it does not look so good for the New Zealand police, he says.
Ambiguities surrounding the investigation
A large preliminary investigation begins and David Wayne Tamihere is sentenced in 1990, despite his denial, for the murder of the Swedish tourists. But then there was still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the investigation.
– At that time there are no bodies and the Swedes have not been found. There is really no theory about the murder weapon or murder scene. It is a murder that is based a lot on circumstantial evidence around him, says Love Lyssarides.
Only Urban Höglin’s body was found after the large search operation. Once the verdict was handed down in 1990, it was believed that the riddle would be solved – but the riddle has continued to be a big mystery without an answer for several years.