Justice a phone call away

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Stuff's podcast Heavy Metal explores the murder of Christchurch scrap dealer John Reynolds two decades ago. Here, in this interactive feature series, we delve further into his story.

Written and researched by Martin van Beynen and Blair Ensor.

John Thomas Reynolds was killed at a time when police still filled in forms and typed up reports in hard copy.

The resulting pile of documents mean he has a continuing presence at the police’s  Christchurch headquarters where material from the investigation into his murder 22 years ago is crammed into filing cabinets.

The files are testament to a thorough police investigation which left no stone unturned.  However in the end investigators were unable to unearth enough evidence to charge anyone and the case entered the annals of New Zealand cold cases.

Cold does not mean forgotten and periodically the police have mounted publicity drives to drum up information. New leads were followed but ended up at dead-ends.

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The man who headed the initial investigation, Detective Inspector John Doyle, now retired, counts the case as his only unsolved murder and he believes a resolution is only a phone call away.

"To me someone had to know. Someone else had to know about it. I still believe that someone or some people hold the key to this," he says.

Reynolds' family have mixed feelings about the prospect of the murderer suddenly being found.

All want a resolution so they can put the matter to rest but an arrest will bring its own pressures.

Michael Reynolds, a Christchurch electrician who found his brother’s body in 1996, is worried about having to go through a trial so long after the event.

Reynolds' widow, who does not want her name used, says an arrest won’t stop bitter feelings about her husband’s killing because they dissipated long ago.

"I can't really see anyone coming forward. It would mean a lot but all the ugly feelings have gone. I still care but all that inner hate, I haven’t thought like that for a long time.

"I'd still like to know who it was and just let them know they took my husband, a father, a grandfather."

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The scrap metal dealer’s daughter Lara says she doesn’t want to hope the killer can be found because that would open her up to more frustration.

But she will keep co-operating with any attempt to find the killer.

"I will have done something for my Dad because he deserves nothing less."

The hardest thing for her is the fact he missed so many great moments with his grandchildren.

Her parents had a strong, committed marriage and the loss for her father was devastating for the family, she says.

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Detective Sergeant Dorothy McPhail, who oversees the extensive Reynolds file, says police are not giving up even 22 years later.

"But we can’t do it all ourselves. Somebody out there holds that crucial bit of information."

Anyone with information about Reynolds' murder can phone 0800 564 673, a dedicated number police have set up for the case.


listen to the podcast

HOW TO LISTEN

If you're using an iPhone, iPad or a Mac computer, sign up via iTunes here.

If you’re using an Android, sign up via Stitcher here.

You can also copy then paste the following URL into your podcast provider for the RSS feed: https://rss.whooshkaa.com/rss/podcast/id/2984

You can also listen on any desktop computer here.

What is a podcast? Read more here.


Email heavymetal@stuff.co.nz to get in touch with the Heavy Metal team.

Email heavymetal@stuff.co.nz to get in touch with the Heavy Metal team.