Lois Tolley murder: Lack of evidence unravels Wellington cold case

Lois Tolley was murdered in her Upper Hutt home in 2016. Photo / File

Lack of evidence has unravelled the murder case of Upper Hutt woman Lois Tolley.

The three men accused of her death, described by police as an execution-style killing, have spent two years in custody awaiting a trial that will now not happen.

Justice Simon France has withdrawn the charges after a number of hearings late last year.

Two of the three men were believed to be inside the house at the time of Tolley's death, the third a lookout.

Justice France said the case unravelled for the Crown over a three-month period but acknowledged further charges could be laid if enough evidence arose.

"The Crown accepts it has insufficient evidence to sustain a guilty verdict." Significant suppressions still shroud the case in mystery.

Tolley was murdered in her home in Upper Hutt on December 9, 2016.

CCTV footage showed that four men entered her home armed with weapons believed to be a machete and a shotgun.

A confrontation ensued and Tolley was cut on her leg, then fatally shot from a close range.

It took three years for charges to be laid against the first of the three who were facing the now-withdrawn murder charges, as well as aggravated burglary and assault with intent to rob.

Some of the group initially sought a complete dismissal of the charges, but Justice France said because of the seriousness of the charges and the possibility of an ongoing investigation, withdrawal was suitable.

In September last year, a judgment excluded admissions by one of the defendants to the police. This dissolved a bulk of the case against him leaving insufficient evidence for prosecution.

In response, he sought to have his charges dismissed. The Crown accepted the lack of evidence and sought leave to withdraw the charges.

Justice France granted it on December 2 and within days the charges against the second man were withdrawn in large part because of admissions he had made to fellow prisoners.

"The Crown reached the view it could not call these witnesses, and accepted this created an evidential insufficiency."

A key witness against the third person had previously faced charges of perverting the course of justice. The Crown decided they could not call her a witness.

The trial of the three was due to start on February 8. All were arrested over an 11-month period, the first in September 2019, the second December of the same year and the third in August 2020.