Masterton in Crewe murders film

Masterton is to play a belated role in the depiction of one of this country's most sensational murder mysteries.

The town's quaint courtroom - considered to be one of the few left in the country with original wood panelling - was selected as a filming venue for an investigative television programme revisiting the 1970 murders of Jeanette and Harvey Crewe at Pukekawa, near Pukekohe.

A film crew from Red Sky Film and Television Ltd were in Masterton late last month to shoot scenes in the courtroom for an upcoming new series of the programme The Investigator, presented by Bryan Bruce.

Although much of the detail of the filming and direction the programme will take is being kept under wraps the film company has confirmed the Crewe murders programme will be a "one-off special". No firm date for the screening has yet been decided.

The 1970 double murder of the Pukekawa farming couple has proved to be one of the most baffling and controversial crimes in modern history.

Jeanette and Harvey Crewe were shot dead in their home and their bodies bundled up, weighted down and thrown into the Waikato River.

Their bloodstained home was discovered by Mrs Crewe's father Len Demler who was to become a prime suspect in their deaths but police eventually arrested and charged Arthur Allan Thomas.

Mr Thomas, who pleaded his innocence from the outset, was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. This was confirmed at a second trial but the evidence against Thomas was considered flimsy and circumstantial. After serving nine years in jail he was given a full pardon and awarded compensation.

Part of the credit for his release went to British author David Yallop who published a book on the case entitled Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

It helped convince then Prime Minister Rob Muldoon to have Mr Thomas pardoned.

Mr Thomas bought a farm elsewhere in the Waikato, remarried and has built a new life for himself and his family.