Heidi & Urban [Paakkonen & Höglin]

But his book Hard Cases says the forensic evidence from the remains of Urbahn Hoglin found in October 1991 indicates Hoglin may have been stabbed from the front while being held from behind.

Bruce says while there were cuts to the neck of Hoglin's sweater and T-shirt and the waistband of his shorts, there were no cuts to the bones of his hands, which meant he did not or could not defend himself.

"As Urbahn's skull showed no sign of a fracture, it's unlikely he was knocked out before he was stabbed and the sprawled position in which his skeleton was found suggests his hands were not tied behind his back."

He said if Tamihere held Hoglin while he was stabbed, it would explain why there were no cuts on Hoglin's hands and why Tamihere didn't get any blood on him.

"It's the killer, in front, who gets covered with Urbahn's blood a killer who does not leave blood in the Subaru because he leaves the scene in another car."

Bruce said Tamihere had admitted stealing several cars, one of which might have been driven by an accomplice.

"This left an unbloodied Tamihere to drive Heidi to Tararu Creek Rd where he subsequently raped and killed her," Bruce says, adding that Tamihere was on the run from a rape charge and had a previous conviction for manslaughter of a woman.

But although Bruce believes Tamihere was rightly convicted, he is adamant he deserved a retrial after the finding of Hoglin's body destroyed several key strands in the prosecution case.

Hoglin's watch, which the police said Tamihere had given his son, was still on the body, the skeleton was found 73km away where police alleged the murders had taken place and the post-mortem exam showed the evidence of all three secret witnesses inmates who claimed Tamihere had revealed details of the killings was nonsense.

Och vav var det som fick polisen att peka ut den första mordplatsen 73 km
från likfyndet?