Kahui case: one story, two versions

The grandmother of murdered infants Chris and Cru Kahui says a woman killed the twins - a claim that contradicts their aunts, who say they have identified a man as the killer.

Gwen Hetaraka, the mother of the twins' father, Chris Kahui, said she had not confronted the woman but had told police whom she believed was responsible.

"Every time she sees me she ... won't even look at me because she ... knows that I know. I feel it in my heart," she told TV3 last night.

She said it was time for the person responsible to come forward and she urged police to act quickly.

"It will make it a lot easier for me and my family ... I just wish the person would hurry up."

Police are playing down reports an arrest is imminent in the inquiry. Fiona and Denise King, half-sisters of the twins' mother, Macsyna King, appeared on TVNZ's Sunday programme, claiming to have told police the name of a man who killed the babies.

They said the name was given to them by Macsyna King and their brother, Robert King.

The women said they had been told an arrest could be made this week.

But in a statement yesterday, inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant John Tims refused to speculate about arrests.

He confirmed investigators had spoken with the aunts "around three weeks ago", and their evidence had been "evaluated".

Mr Tims did not return calls last night seeking comment on Gwen Hetaraka's claim that a woman had inflicted the fatal injuries.

In his statement he said the investigation was progressing well and police were still awaiting pathology and forensic reports.

Those results were still some weeks away.

The aunts told Sunday that Macsyna and Robert King had both given the same name when asked who had killed the infants.

The three-month-old twins died in Auckland's Starship hospital on June 18. Their injuries included broken ribs and massive brain damage. One of the babies had a broken thighbone.

Gwen Hetaraka said her son was "good" and "helpful".

"He's devastated ... he's locked himself in.

"I've never ever seen him like that ever. It's really sad."

Macsyna King's lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, said last night she had no comment. Chris Kahui's lawyer, Lorraine Smith, could not be contacted.

One Kahui family member yesterday attacked the aunts, saying they were uninformed.

"They are not wanted in the family. They don't really know what's going on. They just pointed the finger."

The family member - who did not wish to be named - said there had been some disharmony in the Kahui-King camp, with family members "fighting against themselves" in the weeks following the twins' deaths.

A man calling himself "Tony", and claiming to be a member of the Kahui "Tight 12" rang talkback radio yesterday to deny the existence of the group.

"I am actually one of the Tight 12, and it's not a tight 12, as such," he said.

The group was merely those people present at the hospital when the boys died.

He said he had no idea who the killer was, but said the aunts were "just guessing".

"They didn't even get on with Macsyna and Rob."