In June 1970, Harvey and Jeannette Crewe vanished from their quiet farmhouse in Pukekawa, New Zealand. Five days later, their infant daughter was found alive in her cot, weak but still breathing. Weeks later, their bodies surfaced downstream in the Waikato River — bound, weighted, and shot. What followed became one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in New Zealand’s history.

Police arrested neighbour and farmer Arthur Allan Thomas, claiming his rifle had fired the fatal shots. He was convicted twice and spent nine years behind bars before a Royal Commission revealed the truth: key evidence had been fabricated by detectives. Thomas was pardoned, compensated, and freed — but the real killer was never found.

Fifty years later, the Crewe murders remain unsolved. Theories persist about family rifts, mysterious visitors, and hidden hands inside the investigation itself. The evidence that remains — blood, bullets, wire, and silence — tells a story of ambition, corruption, and the fragility of truth.

In this season of The Veil, investigative journalist Ryan Wolf revisits the case that shattered public trust and forced a nation to look at itself. Because behind every official story, behind every file stamped closed, there are darker truths waiting to be seen.

When you pull back the veil, what you find isn’t always evil — sometimes it’s something far more dangerous: ordinary people, making extraordinary mistakes.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

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This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

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