Deaths of Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens

Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens disappeared in Auckland, New Zealand, five days apart in August 1989. Stephens' remains were discovered in a forest three years later. Fuller-Sandys' body has never been found. In 1999, Gail Denise Maney and Stephen Ralph Stone were convicted of Fuller-Sandys' murder, Stone was convicted of Stephens' murder, and two other men were convicted of being accessories to murder. The convictions of all four were overturned in October 2024 due to a miscarriage of justice. Maney spent a total of 16 years in prison; Stone spent 26 years behind bars and was released on bail a few days after the convictions were overturned. The case was controversial because eight years elapsed after Fuller-Sandys and Stephens died before the police decided to investigate possible links between the two deaths; because convictions were secured without forensic evidence, and legal immunity was granted to four alleged witnesses – two of whom later recanted their original trial testimony, saying they were coerced by police into making false statements. The lead detective, Mark Franklin, was subsequently accused of manipulating these 'witnesses' and lying to the court.

After she was released from prison on parole, Maney continued to state she was innocent and that she never met Fuller-Sandys. In 2020, Stephen Stone also appealed his convictions. Private investigator Tim McKinnel said the case could be "the greatest miscarriage of justice ever seen in New Zealand". In July 2024, the Crown prosecutor conceded that a miscarriage had occurred, and in October 2024, the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of all four defendants, and ordered a retrial for Stone. Provided by Wikipedia