Backpackers vanish in New Zealand’s wilderness | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music]
on wednesday may 24 1989 the fax machine worked at the interpol offices in auckland the largest city on new
zealand's north island it was a message from the swedish town of storforsh a local couple had failed to return home
from their trip to new zealand and their families had become worried twenty-three-year-old swan hog lean who
went by his middle name urban and his 21 year old beyonce heidi pakkinen were due
back on may 7 though no one had heard from them for over a month their last correspondence a letter sent
home on april 7 didn't hint that anything was awry urban and heidi were looking forward to
exploring the expansive and striking coromandel region along the east coast which featured steep rolling mountains
pristine beaches and rugged rainforests airline records confirmed that neither urban or heidi bordered their departing
flight out of auckland [Music] it was completely out of character for them not to be in touch especially if
they changed their plans the couple had budgeted just enough for their current travel itinerary which
involved low-cost activities like hiking fishing and camping this suited the outdoorsy and
adventurous couple just fine but ruled out the possibility that they had spontaneously extended their trip
throughout new zealand urban and heidi had pitched their tent in official tourist grounds or on the side of the
road on the odd occasion they accepted overnight invitations from friendly locals
in latter's home heidi wrote the people here are nice and very helpful if it weren't for all the sand flies and
wasps new zealand would be the perfect country almost anyway [Music] [Music] [Music]
[Music] police in auckland were told to be on the lookout for a barn hog lean and
heidi pakkanen who were traveling with two large backpacks a green and yellow tent sleeping bags and other camping and
fishing gear urban was six feet tall with a strong athletic frame and wavy light brown hair
heidi had a quintessential scandinavian look with golden blonde hair and a slender 5'9 frame
both had striking blue eyes and wore matching gold engagement bands with one another's names engraved inside
the search was also on for the couple's car a white 1976 subaru station wagon they had bought cheap second hand to get
them around the large island urban and heidi's trail went cold at the coastal township of thames at the foot
of the coromandel range where they'd sent their final letter home the owner of a general store recalled
speaking to a couple who matched urban and heidi's description late in the afternoon on thursday april 6. they
sought directions to tararu creek road located at the top end of town the dead-end road granted access to a 12
kilometer bush track that led up to table mountain from there the couple intended to go
down into kawaranga valley where they would hitch a ride back to their car the general store owner advised the pair
that such a trip couldn't be done in a day that would require camping in the wilderness overnight
a scenic and popular campsite called crosby's clearing was part way up the trail and offered the ideal spot to
settle three days later on sunday april 9 urban and heidi's subaru was spotted parked at
the end of tararu creek road by a group of four friends visiting the area it was there when they arrived at midday
and it hadn't moved by 4 pm a for sale sign was propped up on display in one of its windows
one of the men was in the market for a new car so the group approached the subaru to assess its suitability
although its windows were up and it looked secure they were a little surprised to see that the car was full
of personal belongings including two large backpacks and fishing equipment a camera was also clearly visible on the
front seat the group assumed the subaru's owners must have only gone for a day trip into
the bush and that's why they'd left their gear in the car by the time urban and heidi were
reported missing their subaru was no longer in terms it was eventually uncovered 118
kilometers away in downtown auckland it had been abandoned on wattling street in the suburb of mount eden
its tyres were flat one of the windows was smashed and the couple's personal belongings were gone
nothing was found in or around the car that hinted at their current whereabouts nor was there any evidence of what might
have happened to them such as traces of blood or other key forensics residents believed the subaru had been
on wattling street for about six weeks this was backed by two local police officers who had been patrolling the
area on friday april 14. five days after the car was witnessed on tararu creek road in tamz
the police officers saw four men in the subaru whom they described as hoons a slang term for people who drive
recklessly for attention they had run the vehicle's details through their database but it hadn't
been reported stolen so they let it go it was theorised that urban and heidi had found trouble on their hike in the
coromandel region the area was characterized by dense forests creeks deep abandoned mine
shafts and dangerous ravines with smaller tracks crisscrossing through the mountains
although the top of table mountain was flat its sides were extremely steep it was a grueling journey upwards and
the weather at the time was drizzly if urban and heidi had gotten lost or injured opportunists might have chanced
upon their subaru and broken in to steal their belongings before driving it over
an hour away to walkland on the first weekend of june a search party consisting of police officers army
personnel and 60 volunteers braved the freezing conditions to scour the thick wet bushland leading from tararu creek
road they hiked upwards for hours while examining ancillary tracks and creeks along the way
it was no easy task given the poor weather and muddy treacherous landscape after three days it became the largest
land-based grid search ever conducted in new zealand but there was still no sign
of urban her glean or heidi they had been missing for around two months if they were lost or injured in the bush
police deemed it virtually impossible that they would still be alive the hoglean and pakanan families felt
differently they were confident that oban and heidi had the necessary skills to survive in
the bush they were both resolute and capable people with plenty of outdoor experience
urban had recently completed 10 months of military training and often went on week-long camping and fishing trips in
the remote wilderness in his home country he didn't always bother with a tent choosing to sleep out under the stars
instead it wasn't until they saw the jungle-like terrain in the coromandel range for
themselves that the hog lean and pakken and family's concerns grew this was uncharted overgrown territory
nothing like the open spacious forests of sweden the families didn't think urban and
heidi would try to tackle the area they might have had adventurous spirits but neither were big risk takers
this was disputed by a canadian couple who had hiked some challenging tracks with urban and heidi during their time
in new zealand the canadians were impressed by the swedes confident determination as they
navigated through wet slippery and dangerous conditions [Music] 45 year old farmer edward corbett lived
on the western side of the coromandel range at the top of tararu creek road in mid-april edward had spotted a
luggage tag hanging from his fence with a name written on it at the time he'd thought nothing of it
and had thrown it on the ground when he heard the news about the missing swedish couple he immediately recognized
the name from the discarded tag heidi pakkanen edward ventured back to the fence and
found the tag still lying in the grass he then wandered around the area on the lookout for anything else significant
on the side of tararu creek road underneath some trees he came across three plastic bags filled with clothing
the clothing labels were european leaving little doubt that the items belonged to urban and heidi
one of the bags contained nothing but women's underwear at a quicker glance the garments
appeared to be dirty laundry set aside for washing but strangely one pair had been sliced
down each side to form a g-string design it didn't appear to be an alteration heidi would have made herself
testing confirmed the tempered underwear hadn't been worn or washed since the cuts were made
in the absence of any evidence indicating otherwise investigators were now forming the belief that obama and
heidi had met with foul play their search continued in the bush for weeks at one point police found a cutout
clothing label with the brand name active life printed on it urban's brother stefan recognized the
label straight away it had come from a waterproof hooded jacket that belonged to urban
the brothers had shopped for the jacket together and stefan had purchased an identical one which he had with him and
was able to show investigators swedish backpacker hawken borcol had recently returned home from a holiday in
new zealand in late june he was reading a local swedish newspaper when he saw a story
about urban hoglean and heidi pakkinen's disappearance which featured photos of them along with their vehicle
hawkin had never seen urban or heidi before but he immediately recognised their white subaru due to its
distinctive custom bull bars on the front a couple of months earlier hawkin had been staying at a small backpackers
hostel in thames called the sun-kissed lodge on monday april 10 he and a canadian
tourist were making plans to visit the nearby coromandel peninsula together they'd been studying a map in one of the
common areas and discussing how to go about it when another guest overheard their conversation and made them an
offer he'd take them on a day trip to the peninsula if they agreed to pay for petrol as well as his accommodation
overnight at the lodge hawken and the canadian agreed the next day the man led them out to his
vehicle a white subaru station wagon with custom bull bars he explained that he'd borrowed the car
from his cousin hence why he didn't know how to use certain features such as the
car stereo there was also some camping and fishing gear in the back which the man said
belonged to his cousin the day trip was a great success the man was a new zealander who was
familiar with the area and he provided insights into the indigenous maori names of the places they visited
overall he was a friendly and informative tour guide now realising the car the man was
driving likely belonged to missing backpackers urban hoglean and heidi pakinen hawk and borcol contacted police
and gave them a description of his travel guide he was aged between 30 and 35 around 180
centimeters tall with a dark complexion thick dark hair and a bushy handlebar mustache
hawken even remembered his name pat kelly [Music] it wasn't the first time police had
heard of the name pat kelly during their enquiries a member of the public had reported that
they'd been hunting at the crosby's clearing campsite in mid-march when they came upon an unmanned tent
they looked inside and found a note that read if anybody finds this tan do not vandal
it as it's all i've got the note was signed pat kelly coupled with hawkins siding this proved
that pat kelly was in the thames area both before and after urban and tidy went missing
the question was how did he come to be in possession of their car [Music] detectives had actually visited the
sunkist lodge several weeks earlier after a member of the public recalled seeing a white subaru parked outside
sometime around april 10. they ultimately ruled out the sighting as the manager of the lodge had never
seen the car nor had urban or hardy ever been guests there now armed with the information from
hawkenborko detectives returned to the sunkist lodge and checked the guest register
the missing couple might not have stayed there but pat kelly sure had he had checked in on sunday april 9 the
same day the subaru was sighted on tararu creek road and stayed for two nights the manager couldn't remember much about
kelly other than the fact he'd been very friendly when signing in he'd listed his hometown
as invercargill a city on the opposite side of the country detectives contacted authorities in
invercargill if there was a pat kelly living in the area they hadn't met him phone records from the sunkist lodge
over the two days that pat kelly stayed there were collated and examined to see if any could be attributed to him
one call had been placed to a residential address in the auckland suburb of avondale
it was a home police were already familiar with [Music] not one to respect authority trouble
seemed to follow david tamaheri wherever he went especially when alcohol was involved
the 36 year old had a rap sheet that dated back to his teenage years by age 19 he was already serving two
years in prison for manslaughter tamaheri maintained that it was an accident when he fatally struck 23 year
old strip club dancer mary barchman with an air rifle as a free man tamaheri continued to
struggle with alcohol abuse and was rarely sober in 1986 while under the influence he
broke into the home of a 47 year old auckland woman and subjected her to a six-hour ordeal where he tied her up
raped her and threatened to kill her although he had confessed to this violent crime he was granted bail to
await sentencing tamaheri was also responsible for the unsolved home invasion and rape of a 62
year old woman the year prior unwilling to go back to prison tamaheri fled while on bail
he had been on the run ever since living under the alias pat kelly within hours of police making the
pivotal connection between pat kelly and david tamaheri there was a knock on the
door of the tamaheri family home david tamaheri's de facto wife christine was frustrated to see the two detectives
on her doorstep she had dealt with a lot over the 18 years she had been with her husband yet
despite his violent and criminal behaviour she cared about him deeply she considered him a kind person
when sober and he'd never laid a hand on her or their sons aged 15 and 10. it was only when he started drinking
that everything changed and the dark side of his personality emerged although irritated at the detective's
presence christine agreed to answer some routine questions she led them into her lounge room into a
small table the detective's attention was immediately drawn to a hooded waterproof
jacket hanging off the back of a chair it looked identical to the active life one owned by urban her gleam from which
the label had been cut out and left near the tararu creek road track christine agreed to let them have a look
at the jacket explaining that her husband had recently given it to one of their sons
inside the lining two tags had been removed there was no doubt about it the jacket belonged to urban her gleam
[Music] a thorough search of the tamaheri home uncovered several more items of interest
including a pair of binoculars in a camouflage print case a tent a swiss army knife a bone-handled hunting knife
and a tomahawk photos were also found showing david tamaheri on previous camping trips in
the coromandel region police confiscated these in the hopes they might be able to identify the
locations he'd visited before to search for evidence in terms a simultaneous search was
conducted at the sunkist lodge where tamaheri stayed the weekend oban and heidi had vanished from the area
as officers examined a bathroom cabinet they found a toiletry bag tucked away at
the back inside were two toothbrushes and a bottle of prescription medication the name on the label read
heidi pakkanen [Music] police had no trouble locating david tamaheri they already knew exactly where
to find him he was in mount eden prison where he'd been since may 24. [Music] after three years on the run a police
officer in auckland had recognised tamaheri and immediately arrested him for skipping bail on his 1986 rape
charge detectives visited the prison to question tamaheri about his time on the run lighting up a cigarette he openly
admitted to using the alias pat kelly he said that he'd spent a majority of the past year out in the bush in the
coromandel region he'd lived off the land hunting wild goats foraging for food and selling the
occasional possum pelt he was familiar with crosby's clearing having visited the area several times
detectives asked if he'd ever broken into a white subaru but tamaheri denied it when they asked about the waterproof
jacket he'd given to his son tamaherui realised he'd backed himself into a corner
he caved admitting i stole the car according to tamaheri on the afternoon of monday april 10 he'd hiked from tams
to tararu creek road with the intention of heading into the bush to camp at crosby's clearing
during the approximately 90 minute walk from town he didn't pass any other people or cars
when he got to the dead end on tararu creek road he came across the white subaru packed with gear
tamaheri decided to break into the car to see if there was any food inside the driver's side window was open about
an inch so tamaheri got a piece of wire from a nearby fence and used it to unlock the door from the inside
once he gained access he rummaged through the glove box and found a set of two keys as well as the vehicle's
ownership papers recognising an opportunity tamaheri felt the exhaust pipe it was still warm
this led him to believe that the subaru's owners had only just recently entered the bush likely to camp
overnight therefore he had plenty of time to steal their vehicle without them realising it
was gone in the back of the station wagon were two backpacks which were mostly full of
clothing tamaheri tossed the women's clothing aside and cut out the labels of the few
items of men's clothing that he kept for himself some of the clothing was already in
plastic bags so he bundled the unwanted pieces into the bags as well and threw them down an embankment
knew that stolen cars were a low priority for police and felt confident he could drive the subaru for a couple
of days without risk if he was pulled over for any reason he'd be able to show the ownership
papers which would hopefully keep police at bay after spending the night at the sunkist
lodge he drove the subaru to auckland where he dumped it at the railway station with the keys inside the glove
box from there tamaheri visited a secondhand dealer in the cbd and pawned some of the
items he found in the car two large backpacks a pair of binoculars and a fishing rod
he used the car's ownership papers as id pawning the items under the owner's name
urban hog lean in a bin outside the store tamaheri threw away two passports he'd
found inside the backpacks he then returned to visit his wife and children at their home in the suburbs
but was spotted shortly after and thrown back in jail investigators weren't buying david
tamaheri's story if he'd truly thought the subaru's owners had gone camping in the bush
overnight surely he'd have realised this wasn't the case once he noticed their backpacks and toiletry bag containing
essential items like heidi's medication in the car furthermore the canadian couple who
urban and heidi had previously traveled with recalled that there was one key to the subaru and urban was very protective
of it the car's previous owner also confirmed that there was only one key it seemed unlikely that obama would have
left it inside the subaru for tamaheri to stumble upon investigators believed it was much more
likely that tamaheri had obtained the key after directly interacting with urban and heidi and then made up the
story about breaking into the car using fencing wire to separate himself from this fact
tamahera showed investigators how he apparently broke into the vehicle in his demonstration he fashioned a
piece of number eight fencing wire into a hook that he folded to make stronger he then slid the hook end through the
narrowly open window to snag and release the toggle lock while he was able to unlock the car
rather easily and efficiently using this method it banked on the window having been slightly open
the group of four friends who had inspected the subaru on tararu creek road when they noticed its for sale sign
recalled that all the windows were securely up another point of contention was tamaheri's claims that the subaru's
exhaust pipe had been warm when he found it experiments determined that once the
subaru's engine was off it took 30 minutes for the exhaust pipe to cool down the walk from thames to tararu creek
road was impossible to complete in 30 minutes yet tamaheri claimed no one had driven past him during that time
if that was the case it didn't make sense that the exhaust pipe could still be warm
investigators blatantly put it to tamaheri that the reason he'd confidently driven the subaru around was
because he knew the owners were dead and therefore wouldn't be reporting it as stolen
tamaheri denied this stating i have never seen them or done anything to them i don't know anything more about it
i stole the car and that's all after being interviewed for three hours police still had no evidence to prove
tamaheri had ever physically crossed paths with urban hoglean or heidi pakkanen all they could charge him with was theft
of the couple's vehicle as well as their belongings tamaheri didn't protest the charge
instead he shook the detective's hand and agreed to assist with further enquiries if needed
the following day a handcuff to david tamari was led to the thames district court to be formally charged with theft
after receiving a tip-off several members of the media had gathered outside the court and followed tamaheri
as he was escorted inside one reporter asked tamaheri what he thought of the work being done to find
urban her gleam and heidi pakinen he replied jovially well it's quite good i wasn't with them
so it's all right the reporter asked why he had been using an alias tamaheri chuckled slightly and said
i was already wanted quietly observing the goings-on outside of court that day were john cassidy and
his hiking buddy mel north john and mel watched carefully as david tamaheri was led past the crowd of
buzzing media as they are tamaheri their minds were cast back to april case file will be back shortly thank you
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it was just after 3 p.m when john cassidy and mel north heard the strange noise the men had spent saturday april 8 1989
hiking around the coromandel ranges and were nearing the crosby's clearing campsite when they were drawn to a
thumping sound it led them to a couple a man was using a tool of some kind to clear roots from the ground while his
young female companion sat on a tree stump nearby john and mel stopped and chatted with
the pair while pitching a tent the man explained that he and the woman were from auckland
and had just hiked up the tararu creek track to camp at crosby's clearing overnight
they intended to leave the way they came the following day from the way that the man talked it was
clear that he was familiar with the area the woman on the other hand looked completely out of place
her face was made up with powder and a lipstick and she was wearing nail polish something about her facial expression
and body language gave jon and mel the impression she was eager for them to move on
they assumed that the couple might have been having a secret rendezvous and she was embarrassed to have been caught
john and mel continued on their way although their interaction with the auckland couple was unremarkable the
woman had struck both men as odd it wasn't just her glamorous appearance and anti-social body language
for the entirety of their 15-minute conversation she didn't say a word upon learning of urban hog lean and
heidi pakkanen's disappearance john cassidy and mel north informed police of the two people they met at crosby's
clearing the weekend the couple vanished although the woman they encountered had been sitting down john
and mel could tell she was quite tall maybe around five foot eight she had been covered from head to toe in
a hooded green poncho so they didn't get a look at her clothing her straight shoulder-length blonde hair
was just visible around the collar and on her feet were a pair of tan hiking boots similar to the new zealand
paraflex brand although heidi pakkanen was tall and blonde john and mel had both seen photos
of her and didn't think she was the woman they came across in the bush heidi was a bit younger and her face was
fuller no one could vouch for heidi having ever owned paraflex boots and her family said
she wasn't inclined to wear makeup it was clear from their descriptions that her male companion wasn't urban hog
lean either john and mel had described the man as part mary between five foot eight and
five foot eleven with an athletic physique and olive complexion he was wearing heavy boots denim shorts
and a sleeveless top that showed off his strong biceps he had dark hair and to the lower half
of his face was framed by a few days growth of stubble while this didn't match urban's
appearance the description bore a striking resemblance to the case's prime suspect david tamaheri
but when shown a photo lineup that included an image of tamaheri neither john nor mel singled him out
in the photo tamaheri's face was fully covered in thick facial hair and this might have hampered the witness's
ability to recognize him ahead of tamaheri's first appearance at thames district court investigators
encouraged john and mel to travel to the courthouse to see him in person when they laid eyes on david tamaheri
something about the distinct way he carried himself seemed oddly familiar they were also shown photos confiscated
from tamaheri's home to see if they could help identify any of the bush locations featured
a clean shaven tamaheri was in several of these images john and mel were now certain he was the
man they'd seen at crosby's clearing with this revelation they now believed that the woman with him was indeed heidi
pakkanen for the theft charges david tamaheri entered no play and was remanded in
custody when new zealand politician john banks heard about tamaheri's suspected involvement in obama and heidi's
disappearance he was outraged why had tamaheri ever been allowed out on bail after the 1986 rape charges
banks took his indignation to parliament and details of tamiheri's criminal record were published nationwide
including his manslaughter charge which banks labelled as a brutal killing the publicity surrounding tamaheri's
possible involvement in the disappearance of urban hog glean and heidi pakkanen was intense
questions were raised as to whether it would impact his right to a fair trial if police went ahead with a murder
charge banks was undeterred by the backlash stating i'm much more interested in the civil
liberties of swedish tourists and decent law-abiding new zealanders than i am in
the civil liberties of criminals sexual deviants killers and rapists by late july urban and heidi had been
missing for almost five months the search for the pair in the coromandel range had been officially
called off but one volunteer couldn't stop thinking about the missing couple he headed to tararu creek road to have
one last look around he hyped his way through a junction area in the bush known as the jam tins then
traversed the downhill for a further 20 minutes venturing down what looked like an
animal trail he noticed something to the side of the track behind a small mound it was a navy blue and white jacket
neatly folded as though it was intentionally placed there the jacket was quickly identified as
belonging to heidi pakinen a search party returned to the area and it wasn't long before a member spotted
something on the ground it was heidi's wallet which had been stripped of its cash and credit cards
alongside it was a heavily water damaged photo of urban hog lean and the pakken and family which heidi carried with her
everywhere like the subaru none of heidi's belongings contained traces of blood then in december 1989 a local man was
poking around in an old shed near the crosby's clearing campsite the shed had been searched multiple
times by the police since urban and heidi's disappearance but nothing of interest had ever been found
this time the local man noticed something piled up in front of some old furniture
a green and yellow tent with the word sweden on it it belonged to urban and heidi
forensic testing revealed a small blood stain on the roof but the amount was so small that it could have come from
something as minor as a cut finger despite being major discoveries neither the jacket wallet nor tent offered any
insight into what happened to urban or heidi or where they were now the answer to these mysteries came as
david tamaheri sat in jail at one point he struck up a conversation with his cellmate who was identified
only as witness a he spoke of hiking the tararu creek road track with some friends on the morning
of saturday april 8 when they ran in to urban her gleam and heidi they offered to show the couple around
before leading them further into the bush and launching a savage attack tamaheri hit urban over the head with a
piece of wood tied him to the tree and the group then took turns raping both urban and heidi
afterwards they took the couple to a different location where tamaheri killed them cut up their bodies and buried them
near a bluff he'd even drawn maps of where the rapes and subsequent slayings took place which
the inmate handed over to police another inmate witness b claimed he and tamaheri were smoking cannabis outside
the prison chapel when the subject of the missing swedish couple arose tamaheri allegedly boasted
don't worry i cut the [ __ ] up so they won't be found there was a third inmate who tamaheri
started associating with witness c noticed a large map of the coromandel peninsula on the wall of
tamahedri's cell and questioned him about it tamaheri said something along the lines
of the bloody clowns are searching the wrong [ __ ] area they won't find the bodies there
over multiple conversations he proceeded to tell witness see how he'd met urban hoglean and heidi pakinen
at a picnic area and had offered to give them a tour of the coromandel region after leading them away he launched an
attack tying her barn up to a tree he raped heidi in front of her barn before proceeding to rape her barn too
tamaheri then killed urban by bashing his head in with a piece of wood he held heidi captive in a stolen tent
for several days where he continued to assault her at one point two people out bush walking
had almost caught them but luckily for tamaheri heidi had been too terrified to say a word
tamaheri went on to reveal that he eventually strangled heidi and returned to the tent to the shed where he'd
stolen it from using an aluminium motorboat that he stole from a caravan park west of the
peninsula he took the couple's bodies out to sea at two different times he weighed them down with scrap metal
and disposed of them about 15 minutes right offshore afterwards tamaheri scrubbed the boat
and put it back where he found it he drove his victim subaru for the next couple of days making his way to
auckland where he was highly entertained by the fact that a police car had ignorantly driven right by him
in the criminal justice system jailhouse confessions are to be taken with a grain
of salt this isn't just the credibility issue the problem is that inmates may be
compelled to lie in the hopes that helping with another investigation might benefit their own circumstances in some
way however investigators leading the hoglean and pakenon case were adamant that the inmates who came forward to
implicate david tamaheri received no incentives or rewards for doing so if they wanted to testify against
tamaheri they were free to do so but it wouldn't result in shorter sentences for
themselves following word of david tamahri's confessions investigators charged him
for the double homicide of urban her glean and heidi pakkanen it marked only the third time in new
zealand legal history that police chose to proceed with a murder charge without any bodies or a crime scene
david tamaheri's trial commenced in october 1990 a year and a half after his alleged victims disappeared
at the time new zealand authorities had a 98.5 success rate for solving homicides with
only seven remaining unsolved from the past decade urban and heidi's case continued to make
headlines in sweden tarnishing new zealand's image as a safe place for young travellers so the pressure was on
to convict their killer the prosecution relied mostly on five key witnesses the first two were john cassidy and mel
north who were said to have seen david tamaheri with a young blonde woman at crosby's clearing the weekend oban and
heidi were believed to have visited there the other three were the unnamed inmates
who tamaheri had allegedly confessed urban and heidi's murders to based on all five testimonies the
prosecution put forward that david tamaheri had come across the swedish couple then lured them into the bush
near crosby's clearing under the pretense of showing them around he then proceeded to rape her barn
before bludgeoning him to death with a plank of wood tamaheri then held heidi captive in his
tent for several days forcing her to wear makeup and repeatedly raping her to explain why she didn't ask for help
when john cassidy and mel north came upon them heidi was either suffering from stockholm syndrome or was in such
high distress and suffering from post-traumatic stress that she completely froze
it was also possible that urban was still alive but incapacitated nearby and she feared that alerting jon and mel
would put him in danger as witness a described what tamahri confessed to doing to urban and heidi
one of the jurors was physically sick and the court had to be adjourned coupled with his history of committing
violent rape the confessions helped depict tamaheri as a vile sexual deviant tamaheri allegedly confessed to witness
a quote i'm a [ __ ] i'll [ __ ] anything he said he only killed the couple to prevent getting caught and because he
would be too ashamed to be charged with raping a man it was the detailed testimony from
witness c that presented the most comprehensive insight into the crimes based on his detailed play-by-play the
prosecution concluded that tamaheri had narrowly avoided being cored at crosby's
clearing by john cassidy and mel north before killing the couple dismembering their bodies and disposing of them at
sea afterwards he drove their car to auckland to pawn their belongings but kept some of their barns things which he
gave to his sons following five weeks of proceedings the jury retired to deliberate
by the second day they still hadn't reached a decision the difficulty lay on a case built
entirely on circumstantial evidence they struggled so hard to reach a unanimous decision that they asked what
would happen if they remained deadlocked the judge encouraged them to continue deliberations in a bid to spare a second
jury from the same situation finally on day three the verdict was delivered for the murders of urban hoglean and
heidi pakkanen david tamaheri was declared guilty he was sentenced to life imprisonment
with a non-parole period of 20 years the verdict came as a huge relief to the hoglean and pakonen families who felt
satisfied that justice had been served ten months later on friday october 11 1991 two young men were out hunting for
pigs in a forestry plantation in parikhawa valley located on the southeastern tip of the coromandel
peninsula near the town of whangamata they veered roughly 35 meters off the track and as they trudged through the
dense bushland one of the hunters noticed something on the ground partially covered by a thick layer of
pine needles he edged closer and realized it was a human skeleton the remains belonged to an adult male
his clothes had mostly decomposed but some trace elements of his polyester t-shirt and jumper remained as well as a
pair of red nylon shorts a small portion of the man's neck bone had been sliced off
such an injury had the power to sever his jugular vein and spinal cord causing death
it also indicated an attempted decapitation he'd likely been killed just meters from
where he was found as the positioning of his body and clothing indicated he'd been dragged backwards by his feet face
downwards there had been no attempt to bury the body he'd simply been left out in the
open with nothing but the surrounding trees to conceal his remains parts of his hands and finger bones had
been carried away by rats and burrowed into an underground nest in a clump of roots underneath his torso
was a gold ring once cleaned it revealed a name engraved on the inside heidi it had been two and a half years but
urban hog lean had finally been found he was on the opposite side of the coromandel peninsula some 73 kilometers
north by road and then a further 12 kilometers down a remote bush track from where convicted killer david tamaheri
was said to have murdered him case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content [Music] the prosecution's entire case had
centered around a david tamaheri killing urban hoglean and heidi pakkanen in crosby's clearing
while it was possible he could have transported urban to parakowai valley before killing him not a single trace of
blood was uncovered in the subaru on any of the swade's recovered belongings or on the weapons confiscated from tamaheri
had crosby's clearing played a part in the crime the lack of witnesses was notable
it had been a relatively busy period for hikers in the area and two teenagers had
been camping around cosby's clearing yet no one heard or saw urban hardy or tamaheri trudging through the landscape
at that weekend aside from john cassidy and mel north they spoke of having come across a
couple at crosby's clearing on the saturday afternoon theirs was the only eyewitness account
and it played a major role in tamaheri's murder trial when it came to identification police
procedure clearly stipulated that nothing should be done to suggest to a witness who the suspect might be
in this case it was blatantly obvious to jon and mel that david tamaheri was the
case's prime suspect when they were told to go see him in person they were later shown personal photos of
tamaheri that had been taken from his home to help solidify their identification
yet both the john and mel described the man from crosby's clearing as having had
just a few days worth of facial stubble those who had encountered tamaheri or pat kelly as he was known at the time
remembered his distinct thick handlebar mustache each time they spoke to police john and
mel's statements changed slightly the man went from having only stubble to having a mustache
eventually they went from being unsure who the couple were from crosby's clearing to saying with certainty that
it was david tamaheri and heidi pakinen prior to the murder trial the defense had tried to have jon and mel's evidence
thrown out on the basis that police hadn't followed proper identification procedures
while the court labelled the investigation methods used as unacceptable and regrettable the
evidence was ultimately allowed to be admitted [Music] john and mel sighting was the crux of
the prosecution's case up until they came forward investigators were struggling to find any evidence of
a physical connection between david tamaheri and his two alleged victims john and mel provided the much needed
link that helped solidify tamaheri as the couple's killer yet their timeline of events conflicted
with several other independent witnesses one man believed he saw urban and heidi
packing up their campsite in port jackson on saturday morning 110 north of terms
at three that afternoon john and mel claimed to have seen heidi with david tamaheri at crosby's clearing
yet at around 4 30 pm two friends who were holidaying at wilson's bay 40 minutes north of tams reported seeing a
white subaru with distinct bull bars pulled over at a lookout a blonde woman matching heidi's
description was standing in front of the car taking photos of the view the subaru wasn't sighted near tararu
creek road until 7 30 pm a resident recalled seeing a white subaru with bull bars drive up the
street with a man and woman inside it never drove back down again the next morning several witnesses
passing by the top of tararu creek road noticed a recently lit campfire near where the subaru was parked
based on these sightings it was possible that oban and heidi had spent friday night in the coromandel peninsula before
slowly making their way back to terms arriving too late to make the trek up the mountain they opted to camp at the
end of terraroo creek road overnight instead leaving for their hike in the morning
this series of events correlated with the conversation the couple had with staff had attempts salon earlier in the
week a couple believed to have been oban and heidi had told staff of their plan to
visit the coromandel peninsula over the coming weekend then there was another key sighting that
seemingly confirmed the couple were still alive and well after jon and mel's alleged sighting on saturday
as reported by journalist ian wishard in his book missing pieces swedish tourist
murders on the morning of sunday april 9 a young swedish couple attended a service at st james union church in
terms they spoke to several of the 140 parishioners in attendance who recalled that the woman who was tall with blonde
hair introduced herself as heidi they didn't learn the man's name but described him as slim fit and tall with
brown hair all physical characteristics that matched urban her gleam john cassidy and mel north's alleged
sighting played a pivotal role in forming a physical connection between david tamaheri and his two alleged
victims prior to them coming forward investigators had failed to uncover any evidence to prove tamaheri had any
interactions with the foreign couple beyond stealing their car which tamaheri maintained he did
independently and without the use of urban's key but it was the testimony given by
tamaheri's fellow prisoners that implicated him hinoban and heidi's murder although all three prisoners claimed
tamaheri had confessed to killing and disposing of urban and heidi there were markable inconsistencies in their
stories witness a was the only one who said tamaheri had accomplices and that he cut
up and buried both victims in a bluff witness c said tamaheri had kept heidi captive for several days following
urban's murder and that both their bodies were dumped at sea both spoke of urban being bludgeoned
with a piece of wood neither of these stories aligned with where urban was eventually found and his
actual cause of death as for witness b tamaheri claimed their paths had never even crossed
this was backed by a prison officer who confirmed that both inmates were kept on
separate sides of the prison and were unlikely to have come into contact with one another
furthermore witness b was having psychiatric issues including paranoid delusions at the time this alleged
conversation with tamaheri took place when questioned regarding his alleged jailhouse confessions tamaheri blatantly
denied that such conversations had ever taken place the map he'd drawn of the coromandel
peninsula wasn't a guide to the bodies at all but had been drawn at the request of witness a who was involved in the
drug trade and wanted to know more about potential cannabis growing locations those critical of the investigation
noted just how smoothly the inmate confessions seem to tie up some of the loose ends in the case against tamaheri
the lead investigator detective sergeant john hughes was a polarizing figure some regarded him as a shining legend of
the force while others accused him of corruption and falsifying evidence on various occasions over the years
his involvement in the hoglean and pakkinen case along with the tainted identification process raised some red
flags amongst his critics furthermore urban was found wearing a watch that the prosecution alleged
tamaheri had stolen and gifted to his son the watch tamaheri gave to his son had
an inbuilt beeping alarm whereas urban's watch did not the prosecution knew this but used it to
tie tamaheri to the crimes regardless a foreign fingerprint was also lifted from heidi's wallet that wasn't a match
to tamaheri with all these inconsistencies in the prosecution's narrative coming to light
the tamaheri family as well as tamaheri's defense team were confident that he would at the very least be
granted a retrial yet the prosecution argued that the new evidence didn't disprove anything
according to them they'd never said that crosby's clearing had definitely been the murder side
besides tamaheri had access to the subaru and therefore could have used it to take the couple anywhere on the
peninsula as for the watch and inmate testimony the fact that the jury had deliberated
for so long indicated that these details didn't hold that much weight when it came to making a final decision
they disputed claims from tamaheri's defence team that the disturbingly detailed inmate testimony which was now
obviously inaccurate had created prejudice against their client that swayed the jury's decision
for the prosecution the discovery of urban's body simply proved to their case that he had died of violent death
they changed their theory saying it was possible that david tamaheri had led the
couple out to parakouwai valley in their subaru perhaps under the pretense of showing them around
after all he was known to take tourists around the peninsula in the couple's subaru
once in the valley tamaheri killed urban before driving heidi back to the tararu
creek road area the court of appeal agreed and tamaheri's appeal was rejected [Music]
david tamaheri's family and defence team were outraged not only did this go against everything
the prosecution had argued at trial but they felt this theory simply didn't make
sense after killing urban in parakouwai valley why would tamaheri risk driving heidi
all the way back to tararu creek road giving her the chance to escape or attract attention
she would have likely been hysterical at this point so how did tamaheri keep her
under control while making this significant journey urban had died a violent death from a
frenzied attack yet there wasn't a single drop of blood in the subaru defense lawyer murray gibson was so
convinced that a miscarriage of justice had been served that he used his own expenses to travel to the united kingdom
to appeal tamaheri's case to the privy council this judicial committee acted as a final
court of appeal for countries under the british commonwealth after hearing brief arguments from both
sides the privy council decided not to proceed with david tamaheri's case marking his final line of appeal
the legal side of the story was over but investigators refused to officially close the case until heidi pakkanen's
body was also [Music] found in august 1995 the phone rang at the office of david tamaheri's brother
john tamaheri who was a respected new zealand politician on the other line was jailhouse
informant witness c witness c told john he wanted to retract the evidence he gave in tamaheri's
murder trial he claimed that detectives had fed him the information to fit with the
prosecution case and promised to pay him up to 100 000 dollars and assist with his parole if he agreed to provide a
statement john tamaheri was dubious wondering if witness c was looking for some kind of
incentive to recant his testimony however he seemed genuine and even agreed to provide a sworn affidavit
it read in part detectives told me things that would be beneficial to the police
detectives told me about the bloodstains on the tent which david tamaheri had supposedly concealed in a heart or shed
i was told about sexual activities involving the female swede after the male swede's body was supposedly
disposed of i was told that a watch belonging to the male swede was given by david tamaheri
to his son i was told about trampers coming upon david tamaheri and the two swedes and
that at such time the female swede was visibly distressed i may have been told also about a body
being dumped at sea detectives wanted me to say that all of this had been told to me by david
tamaheri the fact of the matter is that david tamaheri never made any confession to me
of any kind things went too far to get out of i always intended on doing something
about the mistake i made by involving myself as a so-called secret witness by making this affidavit i realized that
i may be compromising my own best interests a violent reaction from other prisoners
is likely police and prison officers and other official persons may be equally unforgiving
they may exert pressure on me through their contact within the justice system no matter what the consequences of this
affidavit may be for me personally it is the interests of david tamaheri that concern me most
i no longer want to be associated with the fabrication of evidence used by the police in their case against david
tamaheri news of the retraction was leaked to the media and in a jailhouse interview
witness c confirmed that the details in the affidavit were true he said he decided to come forward
because he could no longer live with the guilt of knowing his lies might have helped convict an innocent man
for tamaheri's supporters this made total sense there were parts of witnesses testimony
that had always seemed a bit cagey certain details he included had conveniently worked perfectly to tie
pieces of the prosecution case together where they didn't have any other evidence to do so
however witness c later revoked the affidavit saying he was forced to sign it for his own protection
other inmates had found out that he'd testified against tamaheri and had singled him out as a jailhouse narc
they were now threatening to harm him and his family when witness c was later asked why he
didn't use the media interviews as an opportunity to announce he was under threat he replied
i didn't want to die the years continued to pass and to mark the 10-year anniversary since urban and
heidi were first reported missing those involved with the search efforts returned to crosby's clearing to lay
flowers and pay their respects to the couple reflecting on the case lead investigator
john hughes remarked it was so tragic they had come halfway around the world and they had a passion for the
coromandel peninsula the odds of their paths crossing with the person who was a convicted killer
and a rapist at that time were a million to one by 2015 david tamaheri was up for parole
having served almost 20 years in prison aged 57 he'd done extensive work with the psychologist had completed a sex
offenders program and accepted that he was an alcoholic the parole board determined that
tamaheri had achieved a quote remarkable breakthrough and granted his release on
the condition that he wear an electronic monitor and abstained from drugs and alcohol for the rest of his life
the hoglean and pakkanen families reluctantly accepted the decision while members of the community were divided
some were uncomfortable knowing the convicted double murderer was now living on their street while others trusted the
parole board's decision one resident commented the guy has spent the best years of his
life in prison as far as i'm concerned he has done his time so let him get on with his life
but those who supported david tamaheri's innocence one huge question remained if tamaheri didn't kill urban hoglean
and heidi pakinen then who did several theories linger amongst locals including that the couple fell victim to
a bikey gang or a trio of criminal brothers the coromandel region was a hot spot for
illegal cannabis growers and perhaps the couple had stumbled upon a crop and paid
the ultimate price to ensure their silence [Music] just before urban and heidi went missing
they told the owner of the thames general store that they intended to hike from tararu creek into kawaranga valley
where they could hitch a ride back to their car it was possible they'd gone ahead with
this plan and had fallen victim to whoever picked them up this could explain why their car was
abandoned on tararu creek road with their belongings inside and why urban's body ended up 73 kilometers away with no
signs of foul play leading back to the subaru according to journalist ian wishart
tunnel vision on david tameri had caused police to overlook an obvious suspect in early 1989 28 year old huia george
foley escaped from a mental health facility and ventured to waihee a small town roughly 55 kilometers southeast of
tams after stealing the donation money from the local church and threatening the
priest he took off into the bush it was an area he knew well over several weeks he walked all the way
to the coromandel peninsula crossing through tams and whangamata he eventually ended up at the home of an
old family friend in an agitated state in his possession was a european sleeping bag
foley stole his friend's car and drove it to auckland there he drove head-on into a parked
truck in what the truck driver believed to be a suicide attempt foley survived but lost an arm as a
result this meant that foley an unstable individual with a history of violence was traversing the bushland alone around
the coromandel ranges at the same time as urban and heidi what's more foley bore a striking
resemblance to david tamaheri both were half maori of similar height and build and had dark facial hair
when foley's family heard that the swedish couple had gone missing in the area they immediately suspected foley
could be involved his mother's response upon hearing the news was allegedly my son did that
they had tried to alert the police who showed zero interest years later in 2002 foley was dying of
kidney failure when he allegedly confessed to his mother that he was responsible for the swedish murders
while examining the case journalist ian wishart also uncovered another intriguing detail that had been withheld
from the public during urban and heidi's travels they had been welcomed into the home of a
couple named mary and john heaven the heavens lived on kawar island located just off the mainland roughly
200 kilometers by road from the coromandel kawar can only be accessed by boat and
has no roads and therefore no cars given that boats can freely come and go from any of the private jetties without
record some believe it is used to smuggle drugs around the time the swedish couple went
missing the heavens saw a woman who they recognised as heidi outside of their home
she was with the dark-haired white man and appeared to be in distress continually looking around in apparent
anticipation she was struggling to carry a heavy-looking backpack so mary stepped
in and offered to help her the man snapped don't touch her and quickly led her away
from heidi's body language and the look in her eyes mary believed she was trying
to signal a message that she was in trouble it wasn't until the heavens saw news of
urban and heidi's disappearance that they called in the sighting the man with heidi certainly wasn't
urban hog lean but it wasn't david tamaheri either although david tamaheri was now a free
man those who supported his innocence remained committed to clearing his name arthur taylor an inmate who served
alongside witness c was known as a serial litigator in 2018 taylor successfully initiated a
private perjury prosecution against witness c claiming that he had lied under oath that tamaheri's murder trial
not only had witness c swung back and forth over the years about whether his testimony was true he'd also written
tamaheri a letter in 2007 that said the trial evidence was all false and fabricated by the police anyway
taylor hoped that prosecuting witness c would deter other inmates from lying in the future
the jury agreed and witness c was found guilty of eight counts of perjury with a
further eight years added to his existing life sentence taylor remarked i think this sends a very strong message
to these perjurers these liars that if they get caught out they are going to get a very serious sentence
we have a lot of rap bags in prisons their first thought is how will i get the hell out of here
and they will do anything to achieve that after almost 30 years the suppression order was lifted and witnessed identity
was able to be revealed for the first time he was robert conscie harris a now 71
year old man who had been convicted in 1983 for murdering mother of three carol pye and her boyfriend trevor crossley
afterwards harris allegedly told his girlfriend that committing the murders was quote
just like having an ice cream [Music] the perjury charges against robert harris essentially eradicated the
witness statement that tied the prosecution's version of events together and tamaheri's case has once again been
referred to the court of appeal if successful he could receive a royal pardon meaning his case could be
reopened to determine if he was wrongfully convicted at the time of writing the appeal has
been delayed due to the ongoing covert 19 pandemic [Music] the case against david tamahe has always
been a controversial one some believe his conviction without physical evidence is representative of
exemplary police work while others think it was a great miscarriage of justice against an innocent man
then there are those that sit somewhere in the middle who believe that tamaheri was involved in obama and heidi's
disappearance but shouldn't have been found guilty on circumstantial evidence alone
those critical of the investigation believed the police were under such immense pressure to solve the case
quickly that they manipulated witnesses in order to charge tamaheri they improperly paraded him in front of
the media before any murder charges were laid influencing john cassidy and mel north to make an identification
they then subtly swayed jon and mel so that their encounter at crosby's clearing fit a possible interaction with
tamaheri and heidi they offered confidential inducements and fed information to the secret inmate
witnesses that conveniently filled the gaps in the prosecution's case david tamari is now waged in his late
60s and continues to maintain his innocence a vocal advocate against wrongful convictions he intends to fight until
his conviction is overturned he has appeared as a guest speaker at the international wrongful conviction
day wearing a t-shirt that read it happened to me it could happen to you [Music]
after sharing his story tamaheri became visibly emotional as he spoke of the others he'd met over the years who were
wrongfully convicted he hoped by speaking out he might be able to help others who found themselves
in his situation kamehari openly admits to the other crimes he committed including the two
home invasion rapes he told reporters for stuff media [Music] i don't mind doing time for stuff i've
done all the jail i got i deserved every day of it that's not what i'm complaining about
what i'm complaining about is that what happened in this murder case should never have happened and it should never
have been allowed to have happened at the site where obama's body was found a simple stone memorial with his name
carved into it rests amongst the thick grove of nakau palms in his hometown his body rests in the
manicured graveyard of the local church where his loved ones visit to maintain a
small patch of purple and red flowers heidi pakkanen's family have no sight to visit to pay their respects
over the years they urged david tamaheri to reveal the location of heidi's body so they could have some closure
but tamaheri maintained he can't tell them where she is because he didn't kill her
[Music] the enduring mystery of what exactly happened to her barn her gleen and heidi
pakkanen remains to this day even in recent years the case remains plagued with missteps that might
inevitably cost the truth from ever being discovered in may 2017 local bushman alan ford was
trekking through an isolated part of wilderness roughly 15 kilometers from where urban hoglean's body was found
he noticed parts of a plastic bag poking out of the ground this immediately struck him as odd given
the area wasn't easily accessible to the public [Music] allen pulled the bag out
inside were three pairs of women's leggings from their fragile condition it was clear they'd been there for a prolonged
period of time allen's mind immediately went to heidi packinen and the plastic bags full of
her clothing that had been found on the other side of the ranges he took the bag of leggings to the local
police station a specialist soon determined just by looking at them that the leggings
weren't old enough to belong to heidi allen wasn't satisfied that adequate testing had been conducted and returned
to the station to retrieve the leggings when he got there he was informed that they'd already been destroyed
news of the destruction came as a shock to forensic scientists who labelled the visual examination as inappropriate
appalling and lazy they believed that the clothing should have been thoroughly examined to
determine exactly what year they'd been discarded and to see if any dna could be
extracted even if it wasn't relevant to heidi's case given the remote area it could have
held a clue to another investigation for locals who venture around the tararu creek track heidi is never far from
their minds the fact that her body has never been found remains a sore point even 33 years
later after all this time it's not unusual for hikers and hunters to veer a little bit
further off the track in case they noticed something that could lead them to her
a volunteer who assisted in the original search party for the missing couple remarked
every time you go up there you find yourself looking every hunter who goes out they are not
just hunting for pigs or goats in the back of your mind there is always heidi [Music]
[Music] [Music] you

Case 209: Urban Höglin & Heidi Paakkonen

When Swedish backpackers Urban Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen go missing during a camping trip around New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, concerns are quickly raised that the newly engaged couple could have fallen victim to foul play. Worries increase once it’s discovered that convicted killer, David Tamihere, was on the loose in the area at the time, having jumped bail on a rape charge...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-209-urban-höglin-heidi-paakkonen

Brief Summary

The episode covers the disappearance of Urban Hoglean and Heidi Pakkanen, the investigation, and David Tamaheri's controversial trial for their murders.

Key points

A Mysterious Disappearance. A couple goes missing in New Zealand, raising concerns among their families.
The Search Intensifies. A massive search operation begins for the missing couple, but no sign is found.
A Shocking Discovery. Clothing belonging to the missing couple is found, suggesting foul play.
The Arrest of David Tamaheri. Police connect a suspect to the missing couple's case, leading to his arrest.
Discovery of Heidi's Belongings. Volunteers find Heidi's jacket and wallet, raising hopes in the search for the missing couple.
Tamaheri's Confession. In jail, Tamaheri confesses to a cellmate about the brutal attack on Urban and Heidi.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Nothing was found that hinted at their current whereabouts.

7:48WatchMay 3, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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