Lois was murdered in her Upper Hutt homein December 2016 when a group of four people allegedly attacked her with a machete and fatally shot her at point-blank range.
Guppy says it was a major event in the community and there was relief when the alleged culprits were charged three years after her death. He says now those charges have been dropped, there will be disappointment.
Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy. File photo / Mark Mitchell
The three men accused of Lois' "execution style" murder were set to go on trial next week. That trial will now not happen.
According to Justice Simon France, the case for the Crown unravelled over a three-month period at the end of last year and charges were withdrawn due to lack of evidence.
"The Crown accepts it has insufficient evidence to sustain a guilty verdict," Justice France said.
It took three years for charges to be laid against the first of the three who were facing the now-withdrawn murder charges, as well as aggravated burglary and assault with intent to rob.
A complete dismissal was sought by one of the trio after a judgment in September 2021 excluded admissions made by the man to police. This dissolved the bulk of the case against him.
The Crown accepted the lack of evidence and sought leave to withdraw the charges.
Judge France said withdrawal, rather than dismissal, was more suitable because of the seriousness of the charges and the possibility of an ongoing investigation.
Justice France granted the withdrawal on December 2 and within days the charges against the second man were withdrawn in large part because of admissions he had made to fellow prisoners.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 as a witness.
Lois' mother Cathrine Macdonald and her partner Rodney said the collapse of the case was another kick in the guts after five long years of fighting for justice in their daughter's case.
"This is another kick in the guts for all of Lois's family and friends and of course to the wider community in Upper Hutt.
"It has been a long five years only to have the justice system fail us when the court date had already been set."
They say they feel let down by the justice system they believed was set up to protect them.
