MURDERED: Harvey and Jeannette Crewe
A shockingly brutal crime rocks a rural New Zealand community, but the fallout has bigger consequences than anyone could ever have imagined.
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Reuter via Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) 23 June 1970, Reuter, “House Found Blood-Spattered” Page 3 via newspapers.com accessed on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/506919996/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 24 June 1970, Author not listed, “Police Seek baby’s parents” Page 4 via newspapers.com accessed on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/121468652/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 19 August 1970, Author not listed, “N.Z. Police Believe Man Shot” Page 23 accessed via newspaper.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/122819613/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 17 September 1970, Author not listed, “Second body found in NZ mystery” Page 1 accessed via newspaper.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/122773348/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 13 September 1980, Pat Booth, “Judge and Police clash in NZ inquiry” Page 25 accessed via newspaper.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123802531/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 17 September 1980, Pat Booth, “Cleared man’s grim story of jail ordeal” Page 2 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123804472/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- Reuter via The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) 28 November 1980, Reuter, “Man wrongly jailed 9 years to get a million” Page 10 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/493275347/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 29 November 1980, Author not listed, “$1M award not important issue” Page 3 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123860941/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 29 November 1980, Pat Booth, “Victory after seven years” Page 3 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123860941/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 22 October 1982, Anna-Maria Dell’oso “Thomas affair a haunting mystery-beyond a doubt” Page 14 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/122574421/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 14 November 1983, Neil Jillett, “Honest quality from NZ” Page 14 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/122303149/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) 08 October 1985, Spiro Zavos, “The law courts brought to book” Page 15 accessed via newspapers.com on 12/01/2020 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123601191/?terms=Harvey%20Jeanette%20Crewe&match=1
- New Zealand Police, Crewe Homicide Investigation Review, Appendix 2, 2014 https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/crewe-review-appendix-2.pdf
- New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) 30 July 2014, Jared Savage, “Rochelle Crewe: Report clears my family’s name” accessed via nzherald.co.nz on 12/03/2020 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rochelle-crewe-report-clears-my-familys-name/M24SAV6RIQKEN5YZQQQO6DS7JE/
- New Zealand Police, Crewe Homicide Investigation Review, Final Report, 2014 https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/crewe-review-final-report.pdf
- New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) 12 June 2020, Anna Lesak, “Crewe cold case: Fifty years and no answers in Pukekawa whodunnit” accessed via nzherald.co.nz on 12/03/2020 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crewe-cold-case-fifty-years-and-no-answers-in-infamous-pukekawa-whodunnit/WR65KZTZY4XDCUF23WOVYPA3Y4/
- Stuff (New Zealand) 19 December 2019, Edward Gay, “Arthur Allan Thomas, pardoned for Jeanette and Harvey Crewe murders, faces rape charge” accessed via stuff.co.nz on 12/11/2020 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/118308014/arthur-allan-thomas-pardoned-for-jeanette-and-harvey-crewe-murders-faces-rape-charge
- 1 News (New Zealand) 18 December 2019, Simon Plumb, “Arthur Allan Thomas- pardoned for the 1970 Crewe Murders – charged with rape, sex offences” accessed via tvnz.co.nz on 12/11/2020 https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/arthur-allan-thomas-pardoned-1970-crewe-murders-charged-rape-sex-offences
- Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Circumstance of the Convictions of Arthur Allan Thomas for the Murders of David Harvey Crewe and Jeanette Lenore Crewe (1980) accessed via the Wayback Machine web.archive.org on 12/11/2020
https://web.archive.org/web/20110609174212/http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/r.christie/thomas_royal_commission_1980.pdf
Suggested Episodes
WANTED: Michael Bullinger
When a pilot murders his wife, his secret lover and her daughter and then vanishes into the Wyoming wilderness, leaving his getaway car behind, a massive tri-state manhunt ensues for the family annihilator.
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 2
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. In Part 2, we look into cases of two other female dismemberment victims in Wisconsin with striking similarities to Rhys Pocan’s.
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 1
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. But while we were in the field, we uncovered a disturbing pattern of murders with similarities to Rhys’ that were just too blatant to ignore. So, we spent the next three years working with local and federal law enforcement to try and get to the bottom of it.
Join our Fan Club to listen to this episode and more!
Unlock all of the exclusive benefits and dynamic listening experience as a Crime Junkie Fan Club member.
Join the Fan Club now to reap the rewards!