Get other Patricia Cornwell here Get other Patricia Cornwell here Dr. Kay Scarpetta freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida takes charge of a case that stretches from steamy Florida to snowbound Boston. The teasing psychological clues lead Scarpetta and her team to suspect that they are hunting someone with a cunning and malevolent mind.
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Police have identified a man, believed to have been dead at least 17 years, 21 months after his body was found in West Auckland bush.
He was Lino Leger, formerly of Mt Roskill, Detective Sergeant Roger Small of Waitakere police said tonight.Four pig hunters in the Waitakere ranges discovered Mr Leger’s body a few hundred metres into bush from Scenic Drive and less than 1km from the Arataki visitor’s centre in February last year.”Our inquiries reveal no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man’s death.Police believed his body had been at the site since 1987-1992, Mr Small said.”A facial reconstruction by Dr Jonathan Christiansen played a major role in identifying Mr Leger, Mr Small said.”Our appeal to the public for help in identifying the body coupled with forensic evidence recovered has enabled police to return Mr Leger to his family, and bring closure to a 22-year mystery.After extensive media coverage of the images , a flurry of friends and family contacted police to say they recognised Mr Leger immediately, he said.”I’m immensely satisfied that this missing persons file has achieved final closure. .”
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The recession ended in the June quarter, with the economy growing by the barest of margins, up just 0.1 per cent, according to official figures.
Most economists and the Reserve Bank expected a slight fall in the June quarter, but that growth would return in the September quarter.
Economist said yesterday that a better than expected result for the economy could see the kiwi dollar continue to rise against the US dollar. The recession began at the start of 2008.06c, its highest level since August 4, 2008 after the release of the GDP data.
The New Zealand dollar rose as high as US73.
Economic activity, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was up less than 0.
This growth in economic activity follows five quarters of contraction in the New Zealand economy.1 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said.5 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, mainly driven by forestry and logging (up 8.
Activity in the primary industries was up 1.
The increase in forestry and logging production was related to an increase in exports of logs to the People’s Republic of China.0 per cent).
Activity in the goods-producing industries contracted 0.
Activity in the goods-producing industries contracted 0.3 per cent) and construction (down 1.
The manufacturing (down 1. A 5.9 per cent) industries both declined.
Activity in the services industries was flat this quarter.9 per cent increase in electricity, gas and water partly offset these declines.5 per cent) and communications (up 1. Service industries that increased were real estate and business services (up 1.
Offsetting these increases were declines in wholesale trade (down 2.7 per cent).3 per cent), and government administration and defence (down 0.3 per cent), and government administration and defence (down 0.4 per cent).
The expenditure measure of GDP, released concurrently with the production measure, was up 0.4 percent in the June 2009 quarter.
Household consumption expenditure, which measures the volume of spending by New Zealand households, was up 0.4 per cent.
This increase in household spending was driven by non-durables (mainly motor fuel) and services. Household spending on durable items fell.
Export volumes were up 4.7 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, with exports of dairy and wood products the main contributors.
Import volumes decreased 3.8 percent in the same period, with the largest declines in intermediate goods, and machinery and plant equipment.
The combination of higher exports, lower imports, and a decline in manufacturing led to a large, $1. .
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Emergency authorities are urging people living in the Wellington area to not be complacent despite new findings that show a decrease in the chances of a big earthquake devastating the region.
New research found the Wellington fault, which runs through the centre of the capital, is about 50 percent less likely to rupture in the next 100 years than previously thought.
The findings were the result of a $3. .5 million multi-agency study of Wellington’s earthquake risk – the most comprehensive to date.
“While most people know it runs through the city and along the Hutt Road, it’s not actually the Wellington fault that’s caused the big quakes in the region over the past 150 years.
However, Wellington City Council’s emergency preparedness manager, Fred Mecoy, said people should remember the Wellington fault was only one of many faultlines in the region.
“It’s actually the Wairarapa fault – over the other side of the Orongorongo Range – that’s caused the damage.”
The magnitude 5.
“It’s a reminder that a big earthquake will cause damage over a very wide area, possibly in most parts of the country.
These could still be devastating to a city like Wellington as many of them were capable of producing a damaging earthquake.2 jolt that woke Wellingtonians on August 28 was centred underwater in Cook Strait, which showed the area was prone to often earthquakes from the 50 active faults in the Wellington region, Mr Mecoy said.
“Awareness and preparation are vital for coping with unexpected emergencies.
“Don’t forget that, like many cities, Wellington also faces other hazards such as storms and flooding, tsunami, landslips and man-made hazards.”
The easiest way to be prepared is to have a household emergency plan in place and emergency survival items, he said.”
The easiest way to be prepared is to have a household emergency plan in place and emergency survival items, he said.
“You should also have a supply of essential items like medicines, and other necessities of life,” he said. Stock up on cans of food and water, at least three litres per person per day for a minimum of three days.
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New Zealand Navy divers and an Air Force Hercules are leaving for Tonga today to help in the recovery of victims from the submerged Princess Ashika ferry.
Prime Minister John Key announced the deployment today.
“We have been very distressed to hear about the sinking of the ferry and the loss of life.
“The New Zealand Government expresses its deep condolences to the people of Tonga following this tragedy. However, in consultation with the Government of Tonga, more assistance will be sent. The New Zealand Defence Force has already been involved in searching for survivors using Orion aircraft. As many as 119 people are believed to have been onboard the Princess Ashika when it sank on Wednesday night.
Up to 66 people are now feared dead after the sinking of the inter-island ferry, and the search for those missing has widened.
The C-130 Hercules is expected to depart from Whenuapai at 6pm tonight, arriving with the dive team in Nuku’alofa about 10. . A three-member remote search team is also onboard which will operate an underwater search vessel.30pm.
Angry crowds are gathering in Nuku’alofa and veteran democracy MP ‘Akilisi Pohiva told that the scene is very tense and dangerous.
Meanwhile, it has beenrevealed thatTongan politicians tried desperately to stop the royal-controlled government using the ancient ferry.
The search resumed today after it was postponed overnight due to poor visibility, but Tongan Prime Minister Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele said he holds out little hope the missing passengers,will be found alive.
“People are extremely angry, everybody knew this ship was going to sink,” he said.
AtNuku’alofaan eyewitness told Stuff there was growing frustration.
And in a bizarre development, King George Tupou V has left the kingdom for an extended Scottish holiday, despite knowing, before he left, that the ship had sunk.
“Very large crowds have camped outside the offices basically baying for blood.
“The mood in the entire kingdom is one of anger, particularly at the shipping company because [people think the] the boat is not up to standard and they sailed it anyway,” Brian Heagney of a close toby dive shop said.
Mr Pohiva, who represents commoners in thenobility-dominated Legislative Assembly, said they had spent the last couple weeks trying to stop Princess Ashika from operating.
“The passage of information in the Kingdom of Tonga is painfully slow so perhaps there are people who are even to this moment in time are not actually aware of their family members are alive or dead,” he said.
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The Labour Party intends to lay a complaint with the privacy commissioner against Social Development Minister Paula Bennett for releasing income details of two beneficiaries.
Ms Bennett released the income details of solo mothers Jennifer Johnston and Natasha Fuller after they publicly criticised the Government’s decision to scrap the training incentive allowance (TIA).Justifying the unusual action – government ministers seldom comment on individual cases – Ms Bennett said she did it to round up a one-sided story. Ms Fuller received $715 net a week and Ms Johnston $554, Ms Bennett’s office said.”I think most New Zealanders will see that actually they’ve been given a real fair go. She felt the women were misleading the public by releasing “selective information”.
”I think it was a very rude thing for her to do,” Ms Johnston said.”
But one of the woman, Jennifer Johnston, said Ms Bennett was trying to intimidate her by releasing details of the welfare she receives.”
Ms Johnston said she was very grateful for the $553.
”She’s targeted me in this way and insinuated in her statements to the press that I have misled and withheld information for my own ends.
”I think the whole point of this was to intimidate us out of exercising our democratic right to protest the Government’s decision,” she said on Radio New Zealand.95 a week she received but it was not enough to live on and fund a tertiary education as well. By all means make it recoverable, make it a loan, let us pay it back or increase the amount that we can apply to StudyLink for.
”I’m not asking for a hand out.
She was also upset by the minister’s actions.”
Natasha Fuller said she had been ”doing really well” and had intended becoming a teacher before her training allowance was cut. I thought we had privacy laws in New Zealand,” she said on One News.
”I couldn’t believe someone could actually do that.Ms Bennett based her decision on guidelines on the Privacy Commission website but in Parliament she revealed she not sought legal or officials’ advice.
Ms Bennett said while she had not sought the women’s permission she felt they had taken the matter public by talking to the news media and writing on the internet.Labour Party MP Charles Chauvel said he would lay a complaint.Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, in response to media queries, said ministers and departments needed to consider the Privacy Act when they released personal information.”When an issue is raised publicly, it will often require the minister to make a careful judgment about how far he or she can go in response,” Ms Shroff said.Ms Shroff did not say whether she believed a breach had occurred, but would consider any complaint made. .Another consideration was whether disclosing the information directly related to the purposes for which the information was obtained.Prime Minister John Key told reporters he was “comfortable” with the women’s information being released and accepted Ms Bennett’s justification.Labour has accused Ms Bennett of using bullying Muldoon-style tactics to silence welfare policy critics.Labour deputy leader Annette King said beneficiaries had the same rights as others and the women’s concerns about training were unrelated to benefits to help them raise their kids.Facing questioning from Mr Chauvel in Parliament, Ms Bennett said she had not sought any advice other than checking the website.Mr Chauvel said it was disturbing Ms Bennett had not done that before releasing personal information which he said was invasive and unnecessary.”The minister’s decision was clearly not taken in good faith and I believe it breaches several of the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act.”Even the most basic taking of advice from officials or a lawyer would have made this clear to the minister.”Mr Chauvel said Ms Bennett’s actions were “an attempt to intimidate and silence people who are disappointed the minister has allowed access to the Training Incentive Allowance for sole parents – which she herself used – to be severely curtailed”.He questioned her judgement.Mr Chauvel, in Parliament, also suggested Ms Bennett may have got her facts wrong about what benefits the women got, asking her if she checked information provided about payments under the Child Support Act was right.Ms Bennett said she had relied on her ministry.”I can’t present information that I do not have.”Ms Bennett confirmed she had received the TIA when a beneficiary.”I have never made a secret of the fact I have been on and off the benefit and that I did receive the TIA.”What I can tell those people who are looking at tertiary study is that it’s not going to be easy but if they back themselves, and this Government is backing them as well, then they can get off the benefit. They may even end up a cabinet minister.” -
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Clayton Weatherson’s defence lawyer has told a jury that Lesley Elliott’s evidence about the day her daughter was killed is “less than reliable.”
Judith Ablett-Kerr QC has finished her summing up for the defence in the Weatherston’s murder trial.
Justice Potter will sum up tomorrow and the 11-person jury will retire to consider its verdict after hearing more than four weeks of evidence at the High Court in Christchurch.
Weatherston admits stabbing Elliott 216 times, but says he is guilty only of manslaughter because he was provoked.
Weatherston, 33, is on trial for the murder of Sophie Elliott, 22, at her Dunedin home on January 9 last year.
“With great respect and due deference to her .
To gasps from the public gallery, Ablett-Kerr told the jury Lesley Elliott’s recollection of the day her daughter was killed was less than reliable.. .. It was dreadful what she saw, absolutely dreadful.
“I don’t want to have to say it, but I have to.
Ablett-Kerr finished her closing telling the jury that: “You want to fight it but you can’t because the science supports it.”
Gil Elliott, Sophie Elliott’s father, stood up and walked out of the court room in apparent disgust at the comment.”
She said provocation was supported by the evidence of their relationship supports it and by Elliott’s own diary.”
She said provocation was supported by the evidence of their relationship supports it and by Elliott’s own diary. But your duty is to bring in a verdict that is in accordance with the evidence and with the law,” she said. It’s tragic, it’s awful. Each one of you individually bear that responsibility.
“The rule of law must prevail.”
NEW ARGUMENT FOR DEFENCE
Earlier, the defence unleashed a new argument which it says shows science is on his side.
“Members of the jury, reluctant as you may be, the evidence is that manslaughter is the verdict here, not murder.
This was important because Elliott must have been injured enough to draw blood before Weatherston drew the knife from his bag.
Ablett-Kerr told the jury that forensic evidence showed Elliott’s blood was found inside the pocket of Weatherston’s laptop bag.
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Violent crime in New Zealand continues to rise, largely driven by increasing family violence.
According to the crime figures for 2008, released by New Zealand Police today, violent crime rose by 5.2 percent last year compared with a 12.
Assistant police commissioner Grant Nicholls said the overall increase was driven by recorded family violence, which increased by 12.3 percent increase in 2007. .4 percent in the year.5 percent increase in recorded family violence in 2007 after the roll-out of mandatory training for all frontline police staff in family violence investigation and risk assessment.5 percent), Waikato (11.
The greatest increases were Eastern (14.7 percent).8 percent), Southern (10 percent) and Canterbury (9.
Across the region there were 1,200 less crimes in total recorded.
But in the Auckland region, which accounts for a third of all crime in the country, the streets are marginally safer. That means every day last year three less people were affected by crime than in 2007. That means every day last year three less people were affected by crime than in 2007. Amidst the welter of statistics released by the police, one way of looking at the figures is how many crimes occur for every 10,000 people.
However, that’s an improvement on last year.7 per cent improvement) with only Waitemata doing worse than last year with a 1.
There were decreases in Auckland city (down by five per cent) and Counties Manukau (a 1.
In other words in Waitemata, which covers Waitakere and North Shore, your chance of becoming a victim of crime is less than one in 10.1 per cent increase, but it is still the safest of the three Auckland police districts with just 760 people in every 10,000 being hit by crime.
Waitemata saw a drop in violent offences by 1.
Among the serious end of crime, violent offences including homicides, grievous assaults and robbery, Auckland is also faring better than the national average.
Even in where violence increased, it was below the national average of 5.1 per cent. In Auckland the rise in violence was 0. In Auckland the rise in violence was 0.4 per cent or just 19 more crimes, and Counties Manukau saw a rise of 4.1 per cent of 361 crimes – just shy of one extra violent crime a day in 2008.
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There were 109 homicides last year, compared with 88 in 2007, and 13 recorded family violence murders in 2008 compared with 15 in 2007, 16 in 2006, and a peak of 29 in 2005.
The homicide category includes attempted murder, illegal abortions, infanticide, accessory after the fact, aiding suicide and manslaughter.
“Any violent death is one too many as far as police are concerned,” Mr Nicholls said.
Total recorded crime rose 1.2 percent last year, in line with New Zealand’s population growth over the same period.
There were 431,381 offences committed in 2008, compared with 426,380 in 2007.
Six districts recorded increases in crime, while six experienced a fall.
Auckland City recorded the biggest decrease, with 4 percent fewer offences last year.
Police were pleased that the national rate for solving crime was the best it has been in a decade, at 46.7 percent.
Resolution rates for violence continued to rise, with 81.8 percent offences resolved.
Sexual offending rose by 3.3 percent last year and continued to make up less than 1 percent of recorded crime.
However, issues of under-reporting of sex crimes remained, Mr Nicholls said.
Drugs and anti-social offences increased 4.2 percent, mostly on the back of a rise in recorded cannabis offences.
Offences for drugs involving amphetamines, ecstasy and fantasy-type substances continued to decline, down 4.6 percent in 2008.
House burglaries were up 4.3 percent, with only Waikato and Northland districts recording decreases.
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Air New Zealand crash report released
– Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Read the air crash report
A preliminary report into a crash of an Air New Zealand jet last November, which killed seven people, is pointing the cause toward its aircrew who were performing low-speed tests.
The report says the plane was too low to perform the low speed test which was not authorised.
As a result of the interim finding air safety regulators have issued urgent advice on tightening up procedures on non-commercial or “non-revenue” flights.
France’s Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) this morning released an interim report showing why the plane crashed but not what caused it to behave the way it did.
The plane, an Airbus A320, was being flown by two German flights while an Air New Zealand pilot, Brian Horrell, was performing flight deck checks.
“The Air New Zealand pilot had undertaken two simulator training sessions…”
The report also includes a safety alert which says a common factor in non-revenue flight accidents was “the flight crew’s failure to adhere to standard operating procedures”.
“The crew had not received any specific training for this type of flight,” the BEA say.
The Airbus had been under lease to Germany’s XL Airlines and had been repainted into Air New Zealand colours prior to handing back. .
The BEA report included text of the last conversations on the flight deck just before the plane crashed into the sea at 3.
The data includes a conversation between the unnamed German pilot and Captain Horrell.
The flight recorders show the plane was trying to perform low speed tests off Perpignan ahead of flying to Frankfurt.
“We need to go slow with err recover from … recovery,” Captain Horrell said.
“Down below the clouds so you want what?” the German said.
During the process the plane's stall alarms sounded and the last sound on the flight recorder is that of a ground proximity alarm.
During the process the plane's stall alarms sounded and the last sound on the flight recorder is that of a ground proximity alarm.
“Under such conditions, the accident was not survivable for the occupants.
“The airplane wreckage and its spread bear witness to the violence of the impact with the surface of the sea,” the report says.
BEA said it was unable to find prescribed operating procedures for such flights or formal constraints on aircrews.”
The report said the flight was intended to check the condition of the airplane in service, at the end of a leasing agreement.
“The investigations initial findings brought to light the fact that there is a great diversity in the description made by operators of non-revenue flights, in the context that they establish for the preparation and execution of these flights, and in the selection and training of pilots.
“As a result, operators are obliged to define for themselves the programme and the operational conditions for these flights in their operations manual, without necessarily having evaluated the specific risks that these flights may present,” the BEA report says.”
BEA called for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to issue advice on what kind of non-revenue flights airlines can perform.
“This diversity, along with the almost total absence of any indications or standards on non-revenue flights, can also lead to more or less improvising the performance of tests or to performing tests or checks in inappropriate parts of airspace and/or during flight phases with a high workload.
“As a temporary measure, EASA require that such flights be subject to an authorisation, or a declaration by the operator, on a case-by-case basis.
It wants such flights to be described precisely in the operations manual.
It said 25 percent of accidents involving jets in the past decade have involved non-revenue flights.
It said 25 percent of accidents involving jets in the past decade have involved non-revenue flights.
“Two common factors found … to have been contributory in non-revenue flight accidents are:
“(1) the flight crew’s failure to adhere to standard operating procedures and
“(2) the flight crew’s failure to operate the airplane within its performance limitations.”
The New Zealanders killed in the flight were Auckland’s Captain Horrell, 52, and Christchurch engineers Michael Gyles, 49, Noel Marsh, 35 and Murray White, 37, and Civil Aviation Authority airworthiness inspector Jeremy Cook, 58, of Wellington.
The two Germans have not been named.
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Stay out of the water
Harbour sewage alert after deluge
and PAUL EASTON Saturday, 21 February 2009
A massivedownpour that brought a month's worth of rain in just a few hours has sparked health warnings after raw sewage poured into Wellington Harbour and Lyall Bay.
The downpour overwhelmed the city's drainage system yesterday morning sending untreated sewage into a street near Courtenay Place, a day before the entertainment zone holds the Cuba St Carnival parade.
The city copped 69 millimetres of rain yesterday, well over the expected entire February average of 62mm.
The overflow also sparked warnings about swimming at several beaches.
Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean confirmed last night that warning signs had been erected at Lyall Bay beach.
The lashing caused surface flooding and slowed traffic to a crawl, sparking a slew of accidents, and slips that blocked Rimutaka Hill Rd.
There were further discharges near the international passenger terminal and Kaiwharawhara stream which also discharges into the harbour.
Similar advisories were in place for Wellington Harbour after sewage diluted by stormwater was discharged at the long outfall at Moa Point.
"But it is very diluted sewage.
"People should probably stay out of the water," Mr MacLean said. The council would review results before lifting the warnings." Water quality testing would be carried out by council officials and Regional Public Health during the weekend. An "absolutely nauseating" smell had enveloped her property towards the bay's western end.
A Lyall Bay resident said the sewage had been leaking into the area for the past week."
The council spent $4 million on a stormwater upgrade in 2004 after a similar incident with sewage in Bond St in 2004. .
"Large amounts of fat are not supposed to get into the sewerage system so we'll be doing a check of grease traps in the area to make sure they're operating and being maintained properly.
Mr MacLean said the sewer blockage that resulted in untreated sewage spew near the intersection of Courtenay Place and Tory St was caused by a combination of the heavy rain and a buildup of congealed fat in the sewer.30am to complain."
StarMart manager Priyank Jain said he was first alerted to the spillage after customers came in to the store about 8.
The low was anchored off Westland yesterday.
Yesterday's onslaught came as a deep low brought warm moist air from the subtropics, MetService duty forecaster Oliver Druce said.
Mr Druce said the rain was forecast to ease in the North Island. An associated front sent heavy rain up the North Island.