By Tony Wall
The conviction of Stephen Stone for the brutal slaying of two people 10 years ago closes one chapter of the seedy underworld of West Auckland crime, but the story may not be over.
Police piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of the Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens murders uncovered new
information on four other missing people.
They believe the secrets to the fates of at least some of the four could lie in the forests of West Auckland, which have become a dumping ground for bodies.
Michael Luton, Andrew Maaka, Kerin Hau and Jeffrey Walker all disappeared without trace in the late 80s and early 90s.
At least two of the men had connections with West Auckland's notorious Headhunter gang.
Mr Maaka, last seen alive at a function at the gang's headquarters in 1991, was mentioned numerous times during the Stone trial.
The defence suggested Maaka was the real victim of the first 1989 murder rather than Deane Fuller-Sandys. It was also revealed in court that Mr Maaka had been in a relationship with Gail Maney, who ordered the hit on Mr Fuller-Sandys.
Kacey Maaka, Mr Maaka's sister, said her family had asked police if Stephen Stone could have been involved in her brother's disappearance, but was told that was not considered likely.
But she said the family had always suspected the Headhunters had "done away" with her brother, as he was using their name to do drug deals.
The officer in charge of the Waitakere police CIB, Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Franklin, said a large amount of information on the four missing men was gathered during the Fuller-Sandys investigation.
He said the Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens cases proved that with luck, hard work and cooperation of witnesses, killers could be brought to justice years after their crimes.
