A team of police detectives have travelled to Australia to gather new information as part of the ongoing reinvestigation of the murder of Arthur Easton nearly four decades ago.
Easton, 52 at the time of his death, was murdered 39 years ago on October 13, 1985 at his home in Auckland’s Papakura.
Police said a male intruder entered the home and that Easton and his two teenage sons confronted him, leading to a “violent altercation” and ultimately Easton’s death.
Detective Inspector Warrick Adkin said police had received around 20 calls and emails with information relating to the case since the announcement of the $100,000 reward last month.
“Our team is determined to find the person responsible for killing Arthur and as part of this investigation, information led us to travel to Australia to speak to a number of individuals.”
Adkin said detectives travelled to Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
The visit was “beneficial” to the investigation and detectives “received additional context surrounding some of the original information provided to Police almost 40 years ago”, he added.
“We are continuing to work through the information received, which has been imperative to this case.”
Adkin said police were hopeful that people within Papakura and the wider community would continue to come forward.
“There are still people who have not yet spoken to police and who may have information relating to Arthur’s death.
“Please contact us, now is the time to share what you know, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”
Anyone with relevant information should contact the team by calling 0800 GROVE 1985 (0800 47683 1985) or emailing Operation.Grove1985@police.govt.nz.
Wrongful conviction in Easton’s case
Last month’s appeal came off the back of a formal apology by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster for “shortcomings in the investigation” which led to Alan Hall being wrongfully convicted of Easton’s murder in 1985.
In 2022, the Supreme Court quashed Hall’s conviction. Last year, he was awarded $4.9 million in compensation.
The Supreme Court decision came after the Crown admitted an important piece of evidence had been “unjustifiably” altered, leading to a miscarriage of justice.
Hall spent 19 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of Arthur Easton’s 1985 murder. (Source: 1News)
At the time his conviction was quashed, a retired High Court judge found Hall innocent on the balance of probabilities.
A key witness statement was changed to remove the description of a man seen fleeing the scene as Māori — Hall is Pākehā.
Hall was 23 when he was wrongfully convicted of murder, and 60 when his name was finally cleared. He endured four failed appeals during the process.
In September, three men were charged in connection with the wrongful conviction of Alan Hall. All entered not guilty pleas in the Manukau District Court.
The case has sparked multiple inquiries, including the renewed investigation into Easton’s murder.
