Our guest speaker, Cynric Temple-Camp, delivered a humorous and insightful talk on the public's fascination with murder; touching on various notorious murder cases in New Zealand. Despite his expertise in pathology, he generally finds people more interested in discussing infamous murders than death by diseases. He admitted to knowing how to commit the perfect murder but refused to share the details with us, citing potential real-life implications. So he thought he would go over several cases to give us an idea of what NOT to do when you murder someone.
Cynric was an exceptional and entertaining speaker
Colin Bouwer Case: A psychiatrist in Dunedin who murdered his wife, Annette, by administering anti-diabetic drugs. This case involved Annette suffering multiple hypoglycaemia episodes despite not being diabetic. A misdiagnosis by a Dr lead to her having unnecessary surgery. After her death Colin attempted to prevent an autopsy. The police uncovered incriminating evidence, including life insurance motives and emails, leading to Bouwer’sconviction. Cynric advises against murdering one's partner, as they are often the first suspect.
Peter Plumley Walker Case: A cricket umpire who died during a BDSM session gone wrong. The dominatrix, Renee Chignell, and her associate tried to dispose of his body in Huka Falls, where it was quickly discovered. The trial went through multiple mistrials before a final not-guilty verdict. Cynric advises against disposing bodies in water, as they always float. Also don’t dispose of bodies near tourist attractions!
Sandy Graham & Maurice McGregor Cases: Sandy Graham murdered her partner, Dale Watene and enlisted a friend to help dispose of the body in a remote forest. When questioned by police, she led them to the area where she said she had last seen him. The Police searched the area and found his body, resulting in her conviction. The second case detailed the disappearance of Maurice McGregor, who met Dean Mulligan through a dating site. An undercover agent tricked Mulligan into revealing the burial location of Maurice's body, leading to his conviction. These two intriguing murder cases emphasise the importance of remaining silent to avoid incriminating oneself. Both cases underscore the pitfalls of speaking to authorities or anyone about criminal activities.
Mark Lundy Case: Convicted for murdering his wife and daughter. Lundy was incriminated by the brain tissue found on his shirt and paint flakes matching his tools. The flawed focus on the timeline rather than the presence of brain tissue enabled Lundy to take his appeal all the way to the Privy Council.
Cynric emphasised the positive impact of technological advancements like DNA evidence and security cameras on solving crimes, citing examples such as the capture of David Conyer and the Grace Millane case.
He also discussed the complexities of relying on eyewitness testimony, highlighting the cognitive limitations of human memory. The advent and influence of support groups in high-profile cases like Scott Watson's can also influence peoplesmemories and cast doubt in the publics eyes. Circumstantial evidence is much more reliable.
Once again, Cynric was an exceptional and entertainingspeaker. He closed by suggesting that nowadays its safer to outlive someone and send flowers rather than murder someone to avoid legal problems later.