NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • 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 / New Zealand

Mark Lundy trial: Gruesome picture painted

NZME.
26 Feb, 2015 06:38 AM4 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

Mark Lundy in the dock on day six of his retrial. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Mark Lundy in the dock on day six of his retrial. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Key evidence
• Following her death Amber was targeted with the blood soaked weapon and killed as she was leaving the scene
• Blood particles that could have come from Amber Lundy were found on her father's shirt
• Two other marks on his shirt tested positive for blood
• Paint chips that appeared to be the same colours as on Lundy's tools were found on the victims' bodies and bones
• A forensic scientist has rejected a theory that contamination led to Amber's blood ending up on Lundy's polo top

A gruesome picture has been painted of the scene where Christine and Amber Lundy were bludgeoned to death in their Palmerston North home.

Mark Lundy has been accused of murdering his wife and daughter in the early hours of August 30, 2000 with a tomahawk-like weapon, which he has denied.

The 56-year-old has spent much of the trial in the High Court at Wellington watching attentively and making numerous notes.

When evidence was given regarding the fatal injuries his 7-year-old daughter sustained, Lundy would drop his head and close his eyes.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Lundy's lawyer, David Hislop, today walked ESR forensic scientist Bjorn Sutherland through a possible scenario of how the 38-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter were killed.

A mark on the pillow next to Mrs Lundy could indicate the attacker may have missed his first hit with the weapon, which woke her, Mr Hislop said.

She then moved and attempted to defend herself from the blows coming from her assailant who was standing to the right of the bed in front of the bedroom's curtains, where there was a void of blood.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Sutherland agreed it was a possible scenario, but went further to say the blood spatter indicated there could have been a second position for the attacker, that could have been on the bed.

After killing Mrs Lundy, the attacker would then have targeted Amber, who was standing in the bedroom doorway, but had turned to leave.

Mr Sutherland said she was brought down with a "forceful blow" to her head followed by further blows as she was near or on the floor.

"The implement was already stained with Christine Lundy's blood."

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Two scenarios laid out for Lundy jury

20 Feb 04:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Lundy trial: 'Where's the jewellery box?'

23 Feb 03:03 AM
New Zealand|crime

Lundy trial: Police footage shown

24 Feb 05:06 AM
New Zealand|crime

Lundy trial: Trial turns to scene search

24 Feb 04:00 PM

Orange and blue fragments of paint were found on the victims' bodies and embedded into the bones of their skulls, Mr Sutherland said.

The paint was a visual match to paint on the tools in Lundy's shed.

There were no fragments of paint found on Lundy's clothes or in his vehicle, he said.

Mr Sutherland agreed with Mr Hislop that the attacker's exposed clothing could not have avoided the blood that was being cast off the weapon.

Mr Hislop spent some time today asking Mr Sutherland about contamination at the scene, including when Mrs Lundy was transferred into a body bag and taken out of the house through the conservatory window.

Considering she had a "mutilated face, that's a pretty tricky process isn't it", he asked.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Sutherland said great care had been taken and he was constantly monitoring his and his colleagues' protective clothing to ensure it stayed clean.

Earlier today Mr Sutherland said particles of blood that could have come from Amber Lundy were found on her father's polo shirt.

Two other marks that also tested positive for blood were also found on the shirt, he said.

The blood particles could have come to be on the top through contamination, Mr Hislop suggested.

Mr Sutherland rejected that. "There was a physical separation of items from the crime scene and the items from Mark Lundy."

Mr Hislop suggested Mr Sutherland would not know if contamination happened before the top came to be examined in the laboratory.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The trial in front of Justice Simon France and a jury of five women and seven men continues.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

CrimeUpdated

'Feared for her life': Man tried to strangle ex before setting her clothes on fire

19 May 08:00 AM
New Zealand

'Extremely devastating': Mum's tribute, homicide investigation into daughter's death

19 May 07:52 AM
Property

'Smash her': Family evicted after property manager threatened

19 May 07:00 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Feared for her life': Man tried to strangle ex before setting her clothes on fire

'Feared for her life': Man tried to strangle ex before setting her clothes on fire

19 May 08:00 AM

A man hit his ex-girlfriend on the head and when she fled upstairs, he burned her clothes.

'Extremely devastating': Mum's tribute, homicide investigation into daughter's death

'Extremely devastating': Mum's tribute, homicide investigation into daughter's death

19 May 07:52 AM
'Smash her': Family evicted after property manager threatened

'Smash her': Family evicted after property manager threatened

19 May 07:00 AM
Hipkins calls Greens' Budget 'huge spend-up', 'unrealistic' but agrees with some elements

Hipkins calls Greens' Budget 'huge spend-up', 'unrealistic' but agrees with some elements

19 May 06:37 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP