Stephen Stone will have to wait until 2025 to find out whether or not he’ll be retried
Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Stephen Stone was acquitted of a two murders in October
The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction over the killing of Deane Fuller-Sandys in 1989 and then Leah Stephens.
He’ll now have to wait until 2025 to find out whether or not he’ll be retried.
The man who had his convictions quashed over the killing of Deane Fuller-Sandys in 1989 as well as the rape and murder of Leah Stephens will have to wait .
Stephen Stone’s convictions were quashed on October 4, alongside the conviction against Gail Maney, for ordering the killing of Fuller-Sandys.
The court found Maney was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and acquitted her of the crime alongside two others. But the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial for Stone who had spent 27 years behind bars before he was released on bail in October.
But on Wednesday at the High Court at Auckland, Justice Mathew Downs said he granted the prosecution an extension through to March 19 on the decision of whether or not to retry Stone.
“Unsurprisingly, Mr Stone is anxious about the delay and is also concerned about DNA testing and whether that has been carried out overseas,” Justice Downs said.
Justice Downs said the Crown is required to address Stone’s concerns regarding DNA testing within 7 days.
In August 1989, a 21-year-old Fuller-Sandys told his parents he was going fishing.
His car was found in Auckland’s Whatipu Beach carpark the following day. From then until 1997, the police believed Fuller-Sandys had likely died by drowning. His body has never been found.
Leah Stephens was 20 when she went missing. She was last seen alive by a friend and fellow sex worker at about 11.30pm and August 26, 1989.
Stephens’ body was found in June 1992 by a man walking his dog near Muriwai Golf Club.
Earlier this week, Stone spoke to The Post saying he can’t understand why police need more time to reinvestigate him for something he says he never did.
“How many statements are they going to come up with now? How many cracks do you get at it? How much longer do they need to come up with some more bullshit?” Stone told The Post.
“Where’s your evidence? Where is it?”
Stone believes police have spent so much effort and money on the case, they won’t give up without salvaging something from their investigation, and he is their last shot.
After his bail hearing in October, Stone's lawyer, Annabel Maxwell-Scott, said it was a “huge moment”.
“The world's a very different place from 1999, so it's going to be an awful adjustment for him.”
Twenty-six years in prison, for a crime he’d always claimed he didn't commit, had taken “an incredible toll”, Maxwell-Scott said.
“He's missed his children growing up, the birth of his grandchildren, he's missed the lion's share of his life.
“He's been very, very strong throughout it.”
Private investigator Tim McKinnel said Stone would be emotional about the decision.
“He remains accused… He’s still got a case to answer and there’s a bit of a process to go through yet.”
But a friend of Stephens told Stuff she wanted the Crown to re-try Stone.
Erica Brandt, Stephens’ cousin's partner, previously said she still firmly believed that Stone killed her, despite problems with the Crown case.