Watson witness recants again

By EUGENE BINGHAM and ALISON HORWOOD

The secret witness who claimed to have lied on the stand at the Marlborough Sounds double-murder trial has changed his story again in a statement to officers investigating his allegations.

Witness A spent several hours in a Napier motel with Detective Superintendent Peter Marshall and the Police Complaints Authority last week.

He then signed a document backing away from his own claims - given to the Weekend Herald in a taped interview - that he had been pressured into giving false evidence.

His lengthy statement effectively supports his testimony during the trial and says he went public about lying under oath last month out of anger at the way he had been treated.

But in another twist to the saga, the man told the Weekend Herald he had again lied to the Police Complaints Authority and that he wanted the real truth out. He said he wanted to sign an affidavit before a lawyer, but would do it in his own time.

In a fresh development related to last year's conviction of Scott Watson for the murders of Olivia Hope and Ben Smart, another witness has recanted.

The woman, who managed the bar at Furneaux Lodge on the night Olivia and Ben disappeared, gave evidence that backed up water taxi driver Guy Wallace's identification of Watson by picking him from a police montage. In an affidavit, she now says the man she saw was not Watson.

Rozlyn McNeilley's statement says she became adamant she had made a mistake after a picture taken of Watson on the night was published in a police-authorised book, Silent Evidence. The photo showed Watson was shaved and had short hair, but the man she served that night had shoulder-length hair and two days' facial growth.

"Having seen this photo, I know without any doubt in my mind that the male I served at Furneaux Lodge bar was not Scott Watson," she said in a November 27 document signed before a justice of the peace.

The statement has been handed to Watson's lawyers, Bruce Davidson and Mike Antunovic.

"It's potentially of importance, but we need to look into it further," Mr Davidson said yesterday.

Told about Witness A's meeting with the Police Complaints Authority, Mr Davidson said he would like to see a copy of the statement. "If it is in fact correct he has signed an affidavit confirming his court evidence was the truth, we still have his interview with the New Zealand Herald.

Although not on oath, on its face value it demonstrates he is an unreliable witness whose evidence for the purposes of any further appeal hearing could be put to one side."

Two weeks ago, Witness A refused to meet a private investigator acting on behalf of Watson's legal team. Witness A, who shared a cell with Watson at Addington Prison while on remand in June 1998, told the trial in the High Court at Wellington that Watson had confessed to the killings and demonstrated how he strangled and raped Olivia.

In October, he contacted the Herald saying he wanted to retract his evidence and clear his conscience. After pouring out his heart in a taped interview, he attempted suicide.

Three lawyers confirmed he had approached them with the same claim, but they were unable to take it any further because he would not sign an affidavit. The Herald's articles sparked a Police Complaints Authority investigation into the allegations of police pressure.

The acting authority, Judge Ian Borrin, said yesterday that he was unable to confirm or deny whether the witness had been spoken to. He could not say when the investigations would be completed.

Witness A contacted the Herald this week. During a day-long meeting, he said he was churning on the inside and wanted to do the right thing. He said he had told the Police Complaints Authority what he did because it was the easiest thing to do and he wanted it to be over. What he told the Herald a month ago was the truth, he said. Watson had never confessed.

Two weeks ago, he told the Herald he wanted to sign an affidavit in the presence of a lawyer as long as the reporters who broke the story were present. He reiterated that this week and the Herald arranged for a lawyer to take his statement.

When the lawyer arrived, however, Witness A hung his head in his hands and said: "I want to do it, but not now."

Since publication of the original story, the police and Blenheim Crown Solicitor Nicola Crutchley have refused to divulge information sought by the Herald.

Official Information Act requests addressed to Police Commissioner Rob Robinson and Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Reilly were handed to the officer who conducted the murder investigation, Detective Inspector Rob Pope.

Mr Pope refused to release the information sought, such as details of any inducements provided to Witness A and a list outlining contact between the witness and police.

Miss Crutchley answered two of five questions put to the Crown Law Office. She said police advised her of Witness A's evidence two months before the trial and officers provided her with a signed deposition statement a month later. The decision to put him before the jury was made by the prosecution team.

Miss Crutchley refused to answer any other questions on the grounds of litigation privilege.