The Larnoch Road murders were a high-profile double-murder case in Auckland, New Zealand. On 21 August 1989, Deane Wade Fuller-Sandys, a 21-year-old Auckland tyre-fitter, left home to go fishing. He never returned. His body was never found and authorities initially believed he probably drowned after being swept out to sea at West Auckland's Whatipu Beach, where his car was discovered shortly afterwards. Five days later, on 26 August 1989, Leah Romany Stephens, a 20-year old Auckland sex worker, also disappeared. Her skeletal remains were discovered in a forest near the Muriwai Golf Course three years later, in June 1992. Police enquiries at the time did not lead to an arrest in her case either.
It was not until police received a tip-off years later that the two deaths were related that Fuller-Sandys' disappearance was upgraded to a murder inquiry. After a two-year investigation, another sex worker, Gail Maney, was convicted of commissioning Stephen Stone, a gang member, to kill Fuller-Sandys over what was portrayed as a drug-related dispute. The murders allegedly took place in Larnoch Road in the suburb of Henderson where Maney used to live. Stone was also convicted of the rape and murder of Leah Stephens, a witness to the killing of Fuller-Sandys. Two other men were also convicted of being accessories to the murder of Fuller-Sandys by disposing of his body.
The case is unusual in New Zealand legal history because of the decade-long gap between the crime and the conviction, the securing of a conviction despite a lack of forensic evidence, and the legal immunity granted to key witnesses. The case is also contentious as Maney continues to state she is innocent and that she never even met Fuller-Sandys, and because two key witnesses who testified at the trial have since recanted their original trial testimony.
Police investigation
In early 1997, Auckland police began to receive information that the disappearances of Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens were connected – through their association with Gail Denise Maney. Maney (born 1967) was a sex worker and said to be in a relationship with Stephen Ralph Stone (born 1969), who had gang affiliations. She lived in a rental at 22 Larnoch Road, Henderson. Fuller-Sandys sometimes attended parties there and allegedly sold drugs to Gail Maney. In August 1989, when Maney and the other occupants were out, the place was burgled. Leather goods, money, and drugs were stolen. Based on a description of the burglar provided by a neighbour, police allege Maney believed it was Fuller-Sandys.
Police concluded that in August 1989, Gail Maney had ordered the killing of Deane Fuller-Sandys because she believed he had stolen drugs from her. Police were told that Fuller-Sandys was enticed to come to Larnoch Rd on 21 August 1989 on his way to go fishing. When he arrived, he was attacked by Stone who then shot him in front of at least eight witnesses, among whom was Leah Stephens. Stone passed the gun to each of the four male witnesses, including Maney's younger brother Colin Neil Maney (born 1971) and a mutual acquaintance, Mark William Henriksen (born 1967), and directed them to fire bullets into the body to make them complicit in the murder. The men allegedly disposed of Fuller-Sandys' body in Woodhill Forest (although subsequent police searches failed to discover his remains), and left his vehicle at Whatipu Beach to make it appear he had drowned there. Five days later, Stone, believing that Leah Stephens was likely to inform police of the murder of Fuller-Sandys, raped and then murdered her with a knife at 22 Larnoch Road.
During the course of the investigation, the lead detective on the case, Mark Franklin, was discovered by other police officers sharing a joint in downtown Auckland. The incident could have ended Franklin's career, but he spoke to his supervisor about it before the other officers reported him and he was let off with a warning. The investigation continued for two years, after which Maney and Stone were arrested and charged with murdering Fuller-Sandys at Maney's home in Larnoch Road. Stone was also charged with the rape and murder of Stephens. Colin Maney and Mark Henriksen were charged with being accessories to the murder of Fuller-Sandys. All four denied the charges.