Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Convicted murderer files appeal

By Mike Dinsdale
Northern Advocate·
21 Dec, 2012 07:01 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

For the second year in a row, Auckland mum Zelma Davis is facing a Christmas ruined by the man convicted of killing her son.

Ms Davis is "gutted" that Wayne Bracken - described by a judge as "dangerous and evil" - has appealed against his conviction and 21-year minimum non-parole jail sentence handed out in the High Court at Whangarei in November.

After a seven-week trial, Bracken was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Aucklander Jack Davis on February 25, 2011, as well as on charges of aggravated robbery, assault with intent to injure, and burglary.

His co-accused in the death of Mr Davis, Neville Dangen, 24, from Kaeo, was found not guilty of the charges. Mr Dangen was not involved in the aggravated robbery.

The jury had heard that Bracken had Davis hogtied, left him tied up in a woolshed for about 20 hours, then beat him to death with a thistle grubber, before leaving his body down a ravine off isolated Salvation Rd, near Kaeo.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bracken got life imprisonment with a minimum 21-year non-parole period - the toughest sentence ever handed down in Northland - but he has appealed to the Court of Appeal, which said a date to hear the appeal would not be set until February at the earliest.

Ms Davis said the appeal had rocked her.

The family had for the first time not celebrated Christmas last year because of the loss of Jack.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We didn't put a Christmas tree up for the first time ever. We couldn't celebrate it," Ms Davis said.

"We have this year and were going to have a full-on, old-fashioned Christmas.

"I'm gutted this [appeal] has come before Christmas and I hope it doesn't ruin it again for us.

"But justice will prevail and we won't let him spoil it."

She said sitting through the seven-week trial had been traumatic for her, particularly having to hear the gruesome details of her beloved son's death, but she would be at any appeal hearing to represent her son.

"The appeal wasn't unexpected ...

"It's laughable that he can even make an appeal and, I while I don't want to have to go through the torture of sitting through another trial, I will.

"I'm not going to let him get one over our family like this."

Bracken's grounds of appeal include that his trial lawyer made an omission while representing him; the trial judge Justice Edwin Wylie allowed a statement to be read to the jury that the defence says should not have been allowed; the judge erred on a question of law; there was insufficient evidence to convict him; and that he was not represented by a lawyer at his sentencing.

Bracken sacked his lawyer on the morning of the sentencing but Justice Wylie ruled that the sentencing should still go ahead.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP