The murders of the Bain family occurred in 1994 in Every Street, Dunedin. On the 20th of June, Robin Bain, his wife Margaret and children Arawa (19), Laniet (18) and Stephen (14) were shot in the early hours of the morning. David was later arrested and charged with their murder. His conviction was overturned by the Privy Council in 2007 and a retrial in 2009 returned a 'not guilty' verdict.
In this book by Joe Karam (a former New Zealand rugby player, two main pieces of evidence that eventually contributed towards the overturned conviction are presented. Karam effectively pieces together the events leading up to the 20th of June and analyses the work of the Police who eventually arrested and charged Bain. In an unprecedented case in New Zealand, vital evidence was misplaced and moved. In addition to this, important tests which could have conclusively ended the case right there and then were not run. Furthermore, legal advice offered to David, as well as the evidence presented by his defence counsel in court was insufficient.
As well as outlining the failure of the Police to adequately deal with this case, Karam presents two vital pieces of evidence which he believes exonerate David from guilt. The first has to do with a pair of glasses and a misplaced lens and the second involves a message left on the computer and how quickly David could get back from his paper run. I found the second piece of evidence most helpful and most likely to point to the innocence Karam suggests, but I still don't believe the case is as open-shut as he suggests.
Additionally, Robin Bain displayed many more signs of someone likely to have a meltdown than David. He was about to be outed by his daughter, Laniet for sexual abuse throughout her lifetime, he was living in the caravan out the back of the property and he felt as though his world was falling apart. David on the other hand was doing well performing, had good friends and was doing the best he had in awhile.
Although it is clear that the Police investigation had many holes and that evidence was destroyed it is my opinion that no one will ever know who fired the gun that day. The evidence presented in this book is persuasive, enough so that it would and should have resulted in a not guilty verdict at the outset. But whether Bain will ever conclusively be able to prove his innocence, or whether he will be able to build a new life for himself after so many years in jail is another matter altogether.
I was impressed by Karam's writing. For some reason ex-rugby player didn't ring literary genius to me, but his argument was well presented, worded and would impress most lawyers.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the Bain case.
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