In 2016, pensioner Brian Hilton was found lying on the floor of his Ōpōtiki home with horrendous injuries.
The 77-year-old was barely conscious. He was battered and bruised and there was blood everywhere.
A Moment in Crime podcast: The violent death of Brian Hilton – and the case that came undone
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In this episode of Herald podcast A Moment In Crime, senior journalists Anna Leask and Jared Savage look back at the brutal attack – and the aftermath.
Police investigating Hilton’s death initially focused on a suspect who had previously acted aggressively towards the elderly man, stolen his house keys and turned up at strange hours of the day.
But the man, who denied assaulting Hilton, was ruled out because of an alibi given by his partner.
The focus of the police then switched to a new suspect: Harry Matchitt.
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A partial DNA profile swabbed from a beer bottle found in Hilton’s lounge was matched to the 49-year-old, who lived nearby.
Matchitt had a lengthy criminal history. He had served time in prison as a teenager, joined the Mongrel Mob gang soon after, and went on to amass 177 convictions for drink-driving, dishonesty offences and violence.
Police interviewed Matchitt in September 2016. No charges were laid against him.
But more than two years later, Matchitt was charged with murdering Hilton. The development came after Matchitt agreed to speak to police again in December 2018.
When asked what happened with Hilton the night he was fatally injured, Matchitt said: “It’s already been said, but I was pissed and probably pushed him over and kicked him.”
The altercation “could have been over anything”, and Matchitt just wanted to face a charge and “get it off my chest”.
Matchitt went on trial for murder in the High Court at Tauranga in July 2021.
The Crown case was that Matchitt had gone to Hilton’s home when he was intoxicated, the two argued and Matchitt kicked and punched Hilton before leaving.
Prosecutors relied on the DNA match on the beer bottle found in the lounge and grainy CCTV footage showing a man somewhat resembling Matchitt walking towards, entering and leaving Hilton’s place the night of the attack.
The defence case was that CCTV footage did not identify anyone and the DNA on the beer bottle only proved something that Matchitt had admitted: that he had been drinking at Hilton’s house on the day in question.
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Matchitt’s lawyer urged the jury to ignore his statements to police because what he said was unreliable.
The statements indicated he could not recall what happened, and knowing that Matchitt was unreliable, the police failed to ask questions to verify what he said.
The jury found Matchitt not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven years and nine months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve at least 50% before being eligible for parole.
In 2023, the Court of Appeal said there was little evidence about who was present in Hilton’s house on the evening he was assaulted – and the trio of judges presiding over Matchitt’s case were not convinced his incriminating interviews would have been admissible as evidence if the issue had been raised before his trial.
This meant there was a real risk that the outcome of the original trial had been affected, so the Court of Appeal ruled that a miscarriage of justice had occurred.
Matchitt’s conviction for manslaughter was quashed and the judges ordered a new trial would be held.
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In 2025, the Crown accepted that Matchitt’s final statement to the police in December 2018 would not be admissible as evidence at the retrial.
Without the tentative admission that he “probably” assaulted Hilton, the Crown also accepted there was now insufficient evidence against Matchitt to justify a second trial.
In this episode of A Moment In Crime, Leask and Savage explain the case – from Hilton’s death to Matchitt’s successful appeal and everything in between.
Savage also reveals what Matchitt is doing now – as a free man – and the impact this experience with the justice system has had on him and his family.
And he speaks about his 20-year career as a journalist specialising in crime and justice, and his recent work on organised crime, including three books about New Zealand gangs.
A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by Leask, who specialises in crime and justice reporting. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 20 years.
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This episode was produced by Leask and NZME audio engineer Alastair Boyes.
Episodes of A Moment In Crime are usually released monthly and so far, Leask has covered more than 70 cases, including the murders of Grace Millane, Scott Guy, Austin Hemmings, Carmen Thomas, Karen Aim; the deaths of the Kahui twins; the Christchurch mosque attack and the historic Heavenly Creatures murder; the case of Lauren Dickason who was jailed for murdering her three young daughters soon after emigrating to New Zealand and the massacres at Raurimu and Aramoana.
Since 2019, A Moment in Crime has been downloaded more than 2 million times by listeners in over 170 countries. It was nominated for Best True Crime Podcast at the 2024 Radio and Podcast Awards.
A Moment In Crime is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released monthly.
If you have a crime or case you would like to hear more about, email anna.leask@nzme.co.nz
