Civil proceedings against the New Zealand police may begin later this year as Napier man Zion King starts possibly his last available legal bid to clear his name in the investigation of the killing of neighbour Chattrice Maihi-Carroll more than six years ago.
But barrister Russell Fairbrother QC says it could still be a long and expensive wait for Mr King who spent 16 months in jail awaiting a trial, which was all over on the first day, when the Crown conceded it didn't have the evidence to get a conviction.
Ms Maihi-Carroll was found dead in her flat on the corner of Venables Ave and Cottrell Cres, Onekawa South, on January 20, 2008.
Zion King was arrested two months later and it was not until February 2010 that he was discharged.
Despite being confronted by a bloody scene caused by a frenzied attack, forensics experts were unable to find any DNA linking him to the crime.
The matter resurfaced yesterday on TV One's Marae programme, in which Mr King repeated his assertion he was not responsible, and said that although he lost his job, a home, and a vehicle following his arrest, he wants an apology more than compensation.
Mr Fairbrother said the legal problem Mr King has in clearing his name and being redressed is that because there was no trial and no acquittal, there is no established course of compensation.
"I think Zion's due an apology," Mr Fairbrother said in the TV One interview. "He's unlikely to get it.
"I think compensation would be appropriate, and we will file a civil case later this year," he said. "You can bet your bottom dollar the police will oppose it."