Sinister Dynasty - New Zealand (NZ) True Crime Podcast

Our most lighthearted case yet! Andi talks to Ayla about George Wilder, a prison escapee. He was first sent to New Plymouth prison in 1961 for burglaries, thefts and car conversions. In 1962 at age 25 he escaped by climbing the prison wall and escaping into the country and was caught 65 days later. He was transferred to Mount Eden prison and had an extra 3 years added to his 4-year sentence. 6 months later, he escaped again, despite patrols every 30 minutes in his unit. He used hacksaw blades and a homemade key which he got from other inmates, cutting the lock from his door before going around the unit and asking if anyone else wanted to escape. George and 3 prisoners escaped to the yard and then used sheet ropes to lower themselves down the prison wall. The 3 prisoners were caught a few days later, but George was not caught for 172 days. By this time, he had both national and international coverage. He survived by breaking into people’s homes, eating their food and then leaving them thank you notes. Once caught, his new sentence was 13 years, longer than what most murderers were getting. However, he managed to escape again! With two other prisoners and a sawn-off shotgun, George kidnapped a prison warden and took him to a house 1.5km away, taking the people inside the house captive too. 3 hours later George was caught. He was released on 20th June 1969.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Check out George's song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwOV6N2_RsY

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Music by Kyle Hsieh

The rise and fall of the of the Mr Asia Drug Syndicate.

Ayla talks to Andi about who Mr Asia was, how it all started, the syndicate at its highest, what went wrong and the event that unfolded!

1970s the era of economic and social change! Chinees Jack would sail through the Rangitoto Channel in Auckland, tossing budda sticks into the water, lying in wait were Marty Johnstone aka Mr Asia and Andrew Maher ready to collect the sticks. Bringing in Terry Clarke Aka the Australian Jackal, Mr Big, they expanded, cutting Chinese Jack out of operations. Starting their “Asian expansion” which produced a return revenue of million. This was the beginnings of the Mr Asia Syndicate. With the success of the Asian expansion, they broadened their horizons creating deals across the globe!

Listener Discretion is advised, expect descriptions of violent crimes, and horrific injuries.
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Music by Kyle Hsieh
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Listener discretion is advised, our content will not be for everyone.
Music by Kyle Hsieh

Andi takes Ayla on a two-parter, covering the disappearances of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. The two friends were celebrating the New Year of 1998 at Furneaux Lodge in Marlborough Sounds, and went back to their yacht in the early morning. With no place onboard to sleep, they were picked up again around 3.30am where they were offered a place by a stranger. They were dropped with the stranger between 4 and 5am, and have not been seen since. A boat was seized shortly after that found hairs on board matching Olivia. Scott Watson was found to be the stranger and was sentenced to life imprisonment. This is despite there being no evidence for the two-trip theory, which meant Scott had to leave his yacht and come back to shore before hopping on the water taxi with Ben and Olivia. It has led many to think this was a case of wrongful imprisonment. What do you think?

Listener Discretion is advised, expect descriptions of violent crimes, and horrific injuries.
Follow us on your favourite (yes this is how we spell favourite in NZ) social media sites, and don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and share!
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube.
Music by Kyle Hsieh
We use Buzzsprout to host our podcast. An easy way to start a podcast and get instantly listed on all the popular podcast sites. If you are thinking of starting a podcast, help us by clicking on our affiliate link below. When you sign up to a paid subscription you'll get a $20 amazon gift card. It will also help us keep our podcast going. Check it out!
Support us on Patreon for as little as $3 per month

Support the show

Listener discretion is advised, our content will not be for everyone.
Music by Kyle Hsieh

Andi and Ayla explore the baby farming era and Minnie Dean’s involvement. Minnie moved from Scotland to Invercargill with her two children in the early 1860s. Once in New Zealand she married Charles Dean, and they adopted two further children. Years later, after moving into a two-bedroom cottage, Minnie found one of her children and two grandchildren dead in a well, a suspected murder-suicide. It was around this time that Minnie started partaking in ‘baby farming’ or taking in unwanted children for money, with up to 9 young children at once. In 1889 and 1891, two babies lost their lives under Minnie’s care. The outcome of this was for Minnie to provide better living conditions for her children. 6 weeks’ later another baby died, leaving the public to think Minnie was to blame, despite investigations coming to nothing due to inadequate child welfare laws. In 1895 Minnie was seen boarding a train carrying a baby and a hatbox, then on her way home was spotted with only the hatbox. Minnie was again investigated, and three children were found buried in her yard. In 1895 she was found guilty of the murder of Dorothy Carter and was sentenced to death by hanging. Out of the 26 children she had in her care, one was reclaimed by their family, five were found healthy, and six had died. The fate of the others is unknown.

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Listener discretion is advised, our content will not be for everyone.
Music by Kyle Hsieh

The Raurimu massacre was a tragic shooting that took place in New Zealand on February 8, 1997. The incident occurred at a remote railway worker's hostel in Raurimu, a small town in the central North Island.

The shooter, identified as David Gray, a local man, arrived at the hostel armed with a semi-automatic rifle and began shooting indiscriminately. He killed six people and injured four others before being apprehended by police.

The victims of the shooting included residents and employees of the hostel, as well as a visiting family of four. Gray had no prior criminal history, and his motives for the shooting remain unclear to this day.

After the shooting, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate the incident and to identify any potential failures or gaps in New Zealand's gun control laws. The inquiry found that Gray had obtained his firearm legally, and it recommended stricter gun control measures to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

The Raurimu massacre was one of the worst mass shootings in New Zealand's history, and it had a profound impact on the country's attitudes towards gun control. The incident is still remembered today as a tragic reminder of the devastating effects of gun violence.

Our love goes out to the families of the fallen:
Neville Anderson
Steven Hanson
John Matthews
Hendrick Dirk Van de Wetering
Anthony McCarty
Andrea Brander

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Listener discretion is advised, our content will not be for everyone.
Music by Kyle Hsieh