The trap that shocked New Zealand | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support
please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show
notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music] christy marco was abruptly awoken by the
sharp ringing of her family's telephone the 18 year old had been sleeping in it was 10 am on tuesday september 6 2011
and she didn't need to be anywhere that morning christy was nearing the end of her first
year at new zealand's auckland university of technology where she was studying events management
her dream was to have her own events company by the age of 30. for now she was still living in the
family home where she'd grown up in the suburb of hillcrest on the city's north shore
the phone stopped ringing before christy could answer it she hadn't gotten to it in time but then
a few seconds later it started ringing again this time christy picked up the receiver
and said hello a male voice on the other end asked to speak with her this is christy
she replied it turned out that the caller was an acquaintance of hers named akshay chand up until recently the pair
had both worked at the same local supermarket they weren't close but they were friendly chatting during their shifts
and sometimes talking outside of work via facebook messenger they lived to just a few blocks from one
another and chant had been over to christy's house on several occasions he often needed someone to speak with
about his personal problems kind and open-hearted christie was always willing to listen
christy knew that chant had been struggling lately but she couldn't have anticipated what
he said next her heart sank as he stated i put 40 pills into a drink and i've crushed them
all and if you don't get to my house within 10 minutes i'm gonna drink them without hesitating
christy headed over to help chant [Music] christie marco had been in such a rush
after receiving akshay chan's call that she barely had time to get dressed she hastily pulled on a pair of black
tracksuit pants and a jumper over the blue top bra and bikini bottoms that she'd been sleeping in
then she grabbed her keys and mobile phone ran outside to her car and drove the one kilometer journey to
chan's home it wasn't in christie's nature to ignore a cry for help she harbored a soft spot for those who
found life more difficult once during high school she'd noticed a younger boy standing all alone
when christy asked if he was alright the boy told her he had no friends christy took it upon herself to
introduce him to a group of students his age and helped him make conversation with
them the boy's mother later called the school to pass along her thanks to christy
her deep sense of compassion had also led christie to volunteer for an animal welfare charity
and organised fundraisers aimed at ending world hunger she had a wide circle of friends from
all walks of life that she socialized with often unlike christie akshay chand had a very small circle of
friends he was extremely intelligent but socially awkward especially around women he and his
family had emigrated to new zealand from fiji when he was four years old as children chant and christy were in
the same year at willow park primary school but they didn't really know one another
they went on to attend different high schools and didn't meet again until they finished school and got
jobs at the same supermarket christy behind a checkout and chand at the meat counter
christy was kind and friendly and as they spent more time working together chant began to confide in her
the truth was he was depressed and felt miserable about his life he wasn't close with his family and
felt directionless when it came to his future christy felt sorry for akshay chant but
his attention towards her had started to feel a little intense in june 2011 she left her position at
the supermarket for a new job at a cheese shop without work throwing them together she
saw a lot less of chant by the time he called her on the morning of september 6 it had been a while since the pair had
spoken christy knew how he'd been struggling surely if he was calling her threatening
suicide then he was in serious trouble [Music] it only took a few minutes for christy
to arrive at the apartment building where chand lived with his mother and younger sister
she parked her car on the street and walked up the steps to knock on the property's screen door
chant answered and invited her in christy followed him through the front door which he locked behind them
there was no one else home chan's mother was working and his 16 year old sister was at school
as the two teenagers sat down in two chairs facing one another christy noticed some white powder on a
benchtop it looked as though it had been left after someone had crushed up some pills
clearly chant was serious when he said he'd prepared a drink laced with a medication
christy asked him where the drink was do you think i am stupid he replied i obviously hid it because i knew that
you'd find it then he began rambling telling christy how he had some specific aims and a task he'd been planning for
the day concerned christy encouraged him to get some professional help this advice upset chant the way he saw
it christy had hardly been there for him since she'd left the supermarket he began ranting accusing her of not
even trying to be his friend christy explained that she'd been busy with her university studies and her new
job chant retorted that she could have taken five minutes to contact him on facebook
and that would have been enough then he added let's face it we both know that you
haven't been very busy christy was growing nervous the more chand badgered her about why she hadn't
attempted to help him the more she tried to explain that she wasn't in a position to do so
he needed to see a mental health professional chand responded that he didn't need that
at all what he needed was christy's help then he told her that he had cervical cancer
christie disputed this informing him that only females could get that disease chant abruptly changed his story
claiming he had prostate cancer instead making up stories about having cancer was too much for christy
it was a serious illness not something to use to get attention she told chand as much
his expression grew angry and he stood from his chair looming over her suddenly he reached into the back waistband of
his tracksuit pants and pulled out a long kitchen knife the knife was about 20 centimetres long
and very sharp chan's right fist tightly held its handle as he waved it over christy this is how
it's gonna go he said if you scream i'm gonna knife you christy began to sob which prompted
chant to tell her to shut up and calm down she was still holding her mobile phone
in one hand and thought about texting her best friend for help but chant noticed the device and
demanded give me your phone christy held onto it tightly it was the only connection she had to
the outside world chand tried to wrestle it out of her hand saying we can either do this the
hard way or the easy way you know what you'll get if you don't give it to me he succeeded in prising the phone away
from christy and placed it out of her rage then he turned his attention back to the matter
at hand as he started explaining to christy chand had several things he wanted to accomplish
that day first he wanted to terrify her next he wanted to enact revenge against her
for abandoning him and finally once those missions were complete he would take his own life
christy continued to cry chant ordered her to remove her jumper and hand it to him
she did and once the garment was in his hands he rummaged through its pockets after
finding them empty chant demanded christy take off the blue top she was wearing as well
christy refused you know what will happen if you don't do it chand warned christy pulled the top off
over her head and passed it to chant [Music] then he told her to stand up and prove
that she wasn't hiding any objects in her tracksuit pants christy did so emptying both pockets
he then told her to remove her pants christy refused and cried even harder again chant threatened her with the
knife realising she had no choice christy took off her pants leaving her only in her underwear
chand gathered all of her clothes and bundled them into a pile before taking a seat in an armchair
he began talking again his rantings were confusing and bizarre sometimes he discussed the economic
system of capitalism at length then he'd switched to talking about spiritual matters like god
and the devil according to chant the devil had tried to grab him one night and ever since then
he'd been fighting a losing battle against evil he rambled on and on complaining that
people like christy caused others to suffer chant accused her of only being there
for him when it was too late saying when i needed help you were too busy and then when i finally make this
desperate call to you you're here by now more than half an hour had passed since
christy had arrived at the apartment terrified she asked are you going to kill me
chance reminded christy of the three aims he'd had for the day to scare her to get revenge and to kill
himself he'd never said how he intended to have revenge but now he was ready to tell her
he planned to rape her christy burst into tears again prompting chant to tell her to compose herself
then all of a sudden he changed his mind abruptly he told christy that she could
leave he returned her clothes and mobile phone still petrified christy didn't trust
chan's unexpected change of heart what if he planned to catch her off guard by stabbing her as soon as she
turned her back she aired this fear prompting chant to put the knife down i'm gonna let you go he said but i just
want you to know that once you leave i'm gonna drink the drink i made christy briefly paused trying to
convince chant not to do it despite what he'd put her through her conscience wouldn't allow her to
just walk away when he said that but chant was insistent too scared to stay a minute longer
christy turned and ran out of the apartment she raced down the stairs that led to ground level
and over to her car other people were out and about strolling along the footpath with no
idea of what had just happened to her christy thought about asking one of them for help but she knew she wouldn't feel
safe until she was back in her own home once she was in the driver's seat christy locked her car doors
and started the engine then she made her way home as far as christy's parents were
concerned she had been their miracle baby shortly after having their first child a
girl they named heather tracy and brian marso tried to conceive again it had taken them six long years before
christy was born and their family was complete heather and christy looked the same but
they had very different personalities where heather was quiet and serious christie was bubbly and mischievous
despite these differences and the years between them the two sisters loved each other dearly
by 2011 the close knit marso family was somewhat scattered heather had moved out of home years
earlier while brian worked at a mine in south australia he would fly there for weeks at a time
and return home to new zealand when he could tracy planned to move to adelaide in the
new year so she could be closer to her husband christy wanted to go too she would
transfer to an australian university and was excited at the prospect of living in a new city
on the morning of christie's attack tracy was busy at work when her mobile started ringing at
around 11 30. glancing down at its screen she saw that her mother surely was calling shirley lived with
her and granddaughter christy in a self-contained flat on their house's lower level
tracy answered the call she could hear christy crying hysterically in the background
then tracy heard her mother's voice love i think you would better come home christy has been attacked
tracy immediately left work and was home within 15 minutes upon seeing her mother christy embraced
her and wouldn't let go sobbing and shaking the entire time she told tracy what akshay chant had done to
her tracy didn't know chant well he certainly wasn't one of christie's friends though she had mentioned his name after
she started working at the supermarket with him christy had described him as a lonely
boy with few friends one sunday a few months earlier tracy and christy returned home
after driving brian to the airport and found chand waiting in their driveway christy chatted with him for a little
while and then he went home christy had reassured her mother that chand just needed to speak to someone
who was nice to him but his behavior unnerved tracy there was something about the teenager
that made her deeply uncomfortable she asked christy not to speak to him anymore
christy was adamant that he was nothing to worry about and there were no more incidents that
tracy was aware of until the assault in his home that morning the details of what had happened to her
daughter devastated terrified and sickened tracy she took christie to north shore police
station to file an official complaint christy recounted her ordeal again for the police
she revealed that during the assault she'd been able to hear the voices of akshay chan's neighbours next door
[Music] she'd deliberately tried to cry loudly hoping they might hear her she had also tried to placate chant by
agreeing with him when he told her how awful she was a strategy she'd learned about while
watching police procedural programs like criminal minds christy had considered trying to escape by running for the
front door but it was locked and she knew that if she fumbled or chant caught up to her
she'd be in trouble she even wondered if she should let chand stub her just once perhaps if
he did the reality of the violence would have snapped him out of whatever he was
thinking then she would have been free to leave and see her family again christy had no idea why chand had
suddenly changed his mind and let her go but she was convinced that wasn't over and that he might attack her again
she revealed that chand had actually been stalking her for a while unbeknownst to her parents she'd come
home to find him sitting on her doorstep more than once he had also followed her
home after a work party where he'd gotten very drunk not long after that he left a note in the letterbox in which
he confessed his love for her and insisted that she help him by becoming his counsellor
chand also tried to give her a large sum of money as a gift christy refused to accept it but he was
insistent she held onto it suspecting he would ask for it back he did a few days later
chand constantly rambled to christy about diseases he thought he had or how he hated capitalism which he
blamed for ruining his family she was polite but found their conversations frustrating
when christy resigned from her job at the supermarket chand quit on the same day saying he had
no reason to be there if she was gone it was abundantly clear that he now harbored a lot of anger towards her
she was terrified at the thought that he was still out there [Music] the police officers who took down
christie's statement understood the danger akshay chand was unpredictable and unstable
they held christie's concerns that he could strike again detectives were quickly dispatched to
his residence to place him under arrest after christy had left chan's home he retrieved the drink he prepared earlier
he'd filled it with around 50 crushed multivitamin tablets which he'd stolen from his mother he had
read somewhere that consuming a large quantity of multivitamins had a toxic effect on the human body
chant had swallowed the drink intending to end his life some time later his 16 year old sister
returned home from school chant asked her to call an ambulance for him and the paramedics took him to north
shore hospital's emergency department once there chand was assessed by a psychiatric registrar and a nurse
he admitted to feeling depressed and unloved and said his parents couldn't care less about his struggles
he hadn't always felt this way as a child akshay chand had always been quiet and shy but enjoyed periods of happiness
when he was eight years old his family had relocated to wales for his father's work
chant flourished in the uk and would later reflect on his time there as the happiest he'd ever been
but in less than two years chant moved back to new zealand with his mother and sister
his father stayed behind soon chant's parents had announced their plans to separate
after that he had little to do with his father the young boy was academically brilliant
with teachers describing him as smart polite and full of potential however by his mid-teens his grades were rapidly
falling instead of going on to university as many had expected chand didn't even graduate his final
year at school though he had previously had a small group of close friends his social life dwindled as he became
more withdrawn spending most of his time holed up in his bedroom he would read listen to music and play
chess online chand became fixated with capitalism after reading das capital by german philosopher and
economist karl marx at night he struggled to sleep and would make up for it by staying in
bed the next day his weight fluctuated but he never abused the drugs or alcohol his lack of motivation led him to
resisting his mother's entreaties that he resume his studies or find a job chand was exhibiting
classic symptoms of depression eventually his aunt organized a job for him at the same supermarket where she
worked it was there that he met christy marso one of the few girls who he felt comfortable speaking to
soon he was opening up to her about his problems though chant told the hospital staff how
awful he'd been feeling and how rejected he felt by his peers he mentioned nothing about christy or
what he'd done to her earlier that day the psychiatric registrar diagnosed chand as having depression with
suicidality he found no symptoms of psychosis but made a point of writing in his notes
some grandiose or entitled flavor to his discussion also slightly narcissistic he prescribed chant with an
antidepressant and referred him to a community mental health team for follow-up when the police arrived at chan's
residence they found only his mother at home she had no idea where her son was the officers managed to track him down
at north shore hospital where they began to interview him as police queried him about each stage of
the attack against christie chand responded to almost every question by simply saying
yeah within minutes he'd admitted to everything that same evening he was charged with kidnapping
assault with intent to commit sexual violation and threatening to do grievous bodily harm
chand was transferred to the police station so a formal interview could take place
he said that he'd been planning to rape christy but inexplicably changed his mind and decided to let her go
his motive for the entire attack had been revenge chand said that he'd been furious at
christy for not helping him with his depression and admitted to still wanting vengeance
although akshay chand had never been in trouble before the police were extremely concerned by
the violent nature of his crimes as one of the station's detectives noted his actions were
quite a big jump for somebody who had never offended before plus he was apparently still harboring
anger towards christy the officers were in no doubt as to what should happen next
chand should be kept in custody until the case could go to court detective sergeant james watson prepared
a document titled grounds for opposing bail in it he detailed how upshay chand had
admitted to attacking and detaining christie marco with the intent of sexually assaulting
her his confession meant that a conviction was extremely likely and incarceration would be inevitable
given the seriousness of his crimes detective watson made a particular point of noting christy's extreme
fear of chant and her desire that he be detained the proximity of their homes to one
another meant that he could be at her house within minutes if he decided to strike again
three days after the attack akshay chand appeared in court his attorney argued her client should be
granted bail as he was just 18 years old the country's bail act at the time meant
that defendants who were over the age of 17 but under the age of 20 must be released
on bail unless they had a prior conviction chant had no previous arrests let alone
convictions chan's attorney conceded that his mental health issues were a factor
but explained he was about to start taking antidepressants if given bail he would live with his
mother so she could supervise him he would also attend a psychiatric appointment within a week of release
the police prosecutor protested these conditions telling judge barbara morris that chan's
mother's home was totally inappropriate if travelling by car it was approximately one kilometer from
christie marco's house it was even closer to reach by foot chant and christie's homes sat in
streets that were practically parallel to one another and adjust 350 meters apart
chand could cut across a reserve that separated their two blocks and b at the marso residence within five
minutes judge morris agreed that such an arrangement was unacceptable despite the bail act the only way she
would consider providing bail was if chand agreed to stay at a mental health facility
however it was unlikely such a facility would accept him as he wasn't exhibiting the sorts of
symptoms that required intervention in accordance with new zealand's mental health act
ultimately judge morris ordered that akshay chan to receive a full psychiatric assessment
and denied him bail citing public safety concerns and christie marso's anxieties
i must take her wishes into account judge morris said i do not consider it prudent or wise to
grant bail until at least a full forensic report can be obtained meanwhile christy was struggling
the traumatic ordeal she had suffered shattered her sense of safety and security
her father brian was still away in australia and wouldn't be returning for almost a week
christy knew that if she told him about the assault he would fly home immediately
not wanting to cause her father any distress she decided not to tell him what had happened until
he arrived back [Music] christy was too scared to sleep in her own room which sat on the lower level of her home
she initially slept beside her mother after two weeks she moved into the spare room next to her parents
eventually she was able to return to her own bed but if she heard strange sounds during
the night she would ask her mum and dad to check up on them christy also no longer felt safe taking
public transport her parents would drop her off at work or university then collect her afterwards she kept a
diary and saw a counsellor to deal with the trauma she had been left with her greatest fear was that akshay chand
would be released she wasn't only scared for her own life she was terrified he might target her
family or become fixated with another girl by early november life was slowly starting to feel good again
chand was finally going to trial on wednesday november 9 and in a couple of months christy and
her parents would be moving to australia what was initially planned as an exciting new chapter
was now going to be the opportunity for a much needed fresh start on the morning of sunday november 6
christy and tracy went out for brunch together christy was seeing a friend later that
day but was keen to spend some quality time with her mum beforehand she was determined to have pancakes so
they went from cafe to cafe until they found one that had them on the menu as they sat in ate the two happily
discussed their upcoming plans tracy and brian were planning to take christy to see some pandas at the zoo
christy planned to wear a panda hat she owned for the occasion as they chatted christy made a point of
saying to tracy mum i love you the next morning tracy got up at 6 30 to get ready for work
she let the family dogs outside ate breakfast and took a shower still wearing her
dressing gown she was preparing to get dressed for the day when there was a knock at the front
door it was still early about seven am but tracy wasn't surprised by the knock kristy liked to shop online and her
orders were usually delivered at the start of the day as christy was still in bed sleeping in
before a late morning shift at work tracy went to answer the door herself standing on the doorstep was a young man
tracy didn't recognize him at first then tracy realised it was akshay chant he was holding a knife
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hoping christy would hear realise something dangerous was happening and escape or maybe some neighbors would
hear and call for help still threatening tracy with the knife chand asked who else was in the house
thinking quickly tracy told him her husband was home it was a lie he had gone back to
australia for work chand seemed to know this prompting tracy to wonder if he'd been watching them for some time
suddenly christy appeared on the staircase near tracy enchant barefoot and wearing a t-shirt and boxer
shorts her mother's screams had woken her and she walked up from her bedroom to see
what was wrong upon seeing chant christy screamed oh my god frozen with fear she stood at the top of the stairs
without moving chant continued to point the knife at tracy while edging closer to christy then he
kicked her square in the chest sending her tumbling down the stairs christy fell back then managed to get to
her feet she scrambled down the rest of the staircase in her rash she slipped and fell again
then she got up and ran through the self-contained flat where her grandma surely lived out towards the back garden
chand chased after her decided to call for help given what chant had done the last time
she thought he was intending to threaten and scare christie surely once her daughter reached
downstairs she would be able to lock herself in shirley's flat preventing chant from reaching her
the police were familiar with the case and would prioritize her call they'd be here within minutes and could
arrest chant panicked tracy dialed emergency services police sent police she begged the
operator there's a guy got into our house and he's after my daughter just as she gave her address she heard a
scream it was christy tracy dropped the phone and ran downstairs christy was lying on the deck outside in
the garden there was a pool of blood beneath her chant was standing nearby tracy raced to her daughter and held
christy in her arms she couldn't see any injuries on her front but christy didn't seem able to
move it looked like she was struggling to breathe tracy repeatedly told her daughter that
she loved her and encouraged her to hold on because help was on the way it looked to tracy as though christy was
trying to tell her something then as she gazed into christy's eyes tracy saw the light go out of them
christy had died [Music] chand was still standing nearby as tracy turned her attention to him she
saw the knife remained in his hand its blade now bent at a 90 degree angle chant was covered in blood
not caring if he attacked her next tracy screamed at him that he had killed christy in an emotionless voice
he replied i am glad police arrived at the scene less than 10 minutes after the attack began
chand was still standing in the backyard listening to music on an ipod the bands and broken knife now lay on
the ground an officer approached him and asked why he was there chant replied reprisal
another officer noticed that chan's hands were shaking and asked him why he answered
it's not easy to kill someone is it chant was placed under arrest and taken to north
shore police station tracy had the painful task of notifying her other daughter heather
and her husband brian of what had happened to christy heather immediately rushed over to be
with her family but brian had to catch two separate flights from australia to make it back to auckland a police
officer met him as soon as his plane landed in new zealand and a sobbing brian was rushed through
customs the grief-stricken marcos had been terrified that something like this would
happen ever since akshay chand had been granted bail about one month earlier although judge barbara morris had
initially refused bail when chant was first arrested for kidnapping christie in september
she had requested that further reports be commissioned with a view to reconsidering the matter
soon chan's age and his lack of priors entitled him to bail under new zealand law he and his lawyer
quickly filed a second application as well as commencing medication and receiving further mental health reviews
chand had written a seemingly heartfelt letter to the court expressing his remorse for attacking
christie it read in part i am incredibly sorry for the ordeal i put christy through
given the chance i will apologize to her her parents and anyone else affected ironically
the last thing she said to me was that she was sorry it's only after the events of the day
that she realized how much pain depression had caused me and how much i needed her
and vice versa she was my emotional outlet there was nothing i couldn't tell her
and vice versa she's really adamant and i'm sure she feels she's the one to blame
i take full responsibility for my actions and accept the consequences of my wrongdoings
christy also submitted her own letter pleading that chant be denied baal she wrote
i am worried that he may still try to get revenge on me as he is already in trouble and has
nothing to lose if he tries again this causes me to worry for my safety i would like to get on with my life but
at present i need to know that i don't have to encounter him as i try to restore my
faith in people this has caused me a lot of distress chan's application was heard on october
5 before judge david mcnaughton although the judge read christie's letter and was aware police wanted to
keep the defendant in custody he made the decision to grant akshay chand bail he was to stay at his mother's home just
350 metres from christie's under constant family supervision he was only permitted to leave for
medical and illegal appointments which he had to attend with the chaperone and he was barred from having any
contact whatsoever with christy marso the police were bitterly disappointed at this turn of events
but they reassured the massos that they would protect them officers would perform random checks to
ensure chand was home at various times of the day every single officer working across the
north shore was also briefed on the case so they could keep an eye out for chant
in total police had checked on chant 23 times during the 32 days he was out he had been home every time
despite their assurances christie's fear escalated during the month that chant had been in
custody she had slowly been trying to return to life as she'd known it before the small sense
of security that she'd gradually regained was shattered in an instant knowing that
chand was free and living mere meters away from her had made her feel more unsafe than ever
before 32 days later he showed up at her doorstep with a knife forensic experts processed the crime
scene at the marco residence photographs were taken of the blood spatters across the deck
and murder weapon which had become bent and broken after chand viciously stabbed christy
between 10 and 15 times he'd attacked her from behind delivering a violent blow to the back of
her head the force of this had caused christy to fall to the ground where chant continued to stab her in the
back the initial wound had been so incapacitating that christy would have felt little
after that akshay chand was interviewed at length by detective darren atwood as with the first attack
he appeared extremely calm and admitted to everything chant had been plotting to kill christy
for some time despite seemingly having a change of heart and releasing christy the first
time he assaulted her chand never let go of his desire for revenge he started thinking about killing her
while he was in custody after this initial attack he knew he'd had to get out of jail so
he could follow through with it he had feigned remorse in his letter to judge mcnaughton
in the hopes that this would increase his chances of getting bail once he was out he began to make plans
chant knew that christy and her family would be on guard in the days following his release
so he decided to bide his time if he waited a few weeks before striking then he was more likely to catch her
unawares although the judge had believed chand would be under constant supervision
his mother succeeded had to work most days his younger sister who was just 16 was
scared of chant and started staying over at friends houses to avoid being near him before going to work
tsuchita made a point of hiding all the kitchen knives in a secret compartment beneath
the oven but chand knew what she was doing and had managed to sneak one away about
a week earlier he'd woken up at 6 30 a.m that morning knowing that it was the day he was
heading back to court in two days time so christy probably thought she was safe as chant remarked to the detective
when you've got nothing to lose nothing to gain it becomes completely viable to kill
someone he got out of bed and brushed his hair which he didn't usually bother to do
then he went to his closet where he'd stashed a bag containing the stolen knife tsuchita had already left for the day
but his sister was in bed asleep so chand made sure to leave quietly as he began walking towards christy's
house he put his headphones on and repeatedly listened to up on the ladder by radio head on his
ipod in one interpretation of the song's lyrics they detail the emotional torment and frustration of
a man who seeks an answer from the woman he loves as to where their relationship is
heading however chant understood it he felt the song had been written especially for
and about him chand detailed how he'd reached the marco residence in mere minutes
then forced his way past tracy he'd chased christy through the house and out into the garden
she had been attempting to unlatch a gate and escape when he caught up to her he stabbed her until his knife became
twisted and unusable then stood back and watched as tracy ran out and cradled her dying daughter
[Music] chand felt absolutely no guilt or remorse about taking christie's life as he explained
to detectives she deserved to die because she let me down police charged akshay chand with murder
he then warned that he had a female accomplice and even if he was locked up his collaborator
would continue to kill the police again prepared paperwork to prevent chant receiving bail
but this time he didn't even apply for it two days later tracy marso went to north
shore police station to provide a statement the only way she was able to function
was by taking medication but the interview was still extremely difficult tracy was battling guilt for having
opened the door to her daughter's killer not realising it was chant standing before her
until it was too late she wished she had fought him off rather than calling the police she was
tormented by the thought of how scared christie was in her final moments all i can see all i will ever see
is my daughter lying on my lap gasping covered in blood and just dying for some pointless reason
tracy told the officers he just stood there and watched it he didn't even try to get away
what sort of person is that after christy was kidnapped by chand in september she'd spoken to a close friend about
what sort of funeral she would like if she died unexpectedly christy envisaged a celebration that
would reflect who she was and where people could have fun [Music] her family selected a bright
turquoise-colored casket as the color was christy's favorite they and her friends wrote messages of
love on it christy's boyfriend helped choose the clothes she would be dressed in
she was laid to rest on saturday november 12 five days after her death hundreds of
mourners attended with many having to stand outside in the chapel's car park due to a lack of space
a photo slideshow of christy set to music screened for 10 minutes in a book titled christy that tracy
later co-authored about her daughter she wrote we had lots of crazy photos that reflected christy's passion for
life and it was nice to hear people giggle when they saw some of them christy would have really liked that
[Music] investigators responsible for christie's case were confident that akshay chand
would be convicted of her murder as well as the earlier charges relating to her kidnapping and assault
he had confessed to both crimes and offered detailed accounts of how he had carried them out
a trial was scheduled for october the following year and initially it seemed as though chant
would be pleading not guilty to all four charges but what looked like an open and shut
case took a drastic turn when news broke that chant was changing his play he was now pleading not guilty by reason
of insanity chant had been examined by mental health experts multiple times since he first
attacked christie in those meetings he had admitted to feelings of depression and hopelessness but firmly denied ever
experiencing psychotic symptoms such as seeing hallucinations or hearing voices following his killing of christie chan's
lawyer had her client assessed by one of the country's leading forensic psychiatrists
dr david chaplow while dr chaplow was interviewing chant he shared a detail that he hadn't
mentioned before in january 2011 chand had started hearing a female sounding voice in his
head sometimes it sounded like humming and singing but other times the voice spoke words to
him it was clearer in the morning than the evening chand first came to know the voice as
lorelai though he later realised that it actually belonged to a girl who had gone
to school with in wales she was eight years old and her name was pauline according to chand pauline was the one
who'd told him he had to kill christie marso she'd said that christy was possessed by
the devil in the days leading up to christy's death pauline's voice became particularly
insistent he tried to resist her instructions but eventually came to believe he had to obey her
she also started telling chand that he had to kill two other people one of whom was tracy
marso he hadn't told anyone else about the voice in his head especially not the police as he believed
they were out to get him dr chaplow interviewed chand a second time after he'd started taking an
anti-psychotic medication this time he told the doctor i don't hear the voices anymore
chand had never demonstrated any remorse for killing christie but now he acknowledged that living the
rest of his life knowing what he'd done to her would be one of his biggest challenges
[Music] dr chaplow considered the possibility that chand could be faking his symptoms
in an attempt to get away with murder chand was capable of manipulation as evident in his past actions to receive
bail but the more he interviewed chant the more convinced dr chaplain was that he was telling the truth
if anything dr chaplow suspected chand had been lying in the immediate aftermath of killing christie
he'd claimed to be a cold-hearted murderer while hiding that he'd been acting on
behalf of a voice that he felt spiritually obligated to obey the various symptoms chant had been
exhibiting for years like his trouble sleeping lack of motivation social withdrawal and fluctuating weight
were originally seen as symptoms of depression however they could also be symptoms of
schizophrenia which dr chaplain believed chant had schizophrenia is a psychiatric illness
that typically begins during young adulthood and can cause delusions and hallucinations
dr chaplain also noted that individuals with schizophrenia often experience depression as well
once the depression is treated with medication the schizophrenic symptoms tend to be exposed
dr chaplow concluded that when chand killed christy he was psychotic and completely unaware
that he was experiencing auditory hallucinations though he knew what he was doing when he
killed christy the nature of his illness meant he didn't understand that his actions were morally wrong
dr chaplow also believed that chant hadn't been psychotic during the first attack
he thought it was notable that chand had changed his mind about raping christy and let her go it was likely that his
illness was at an earlier stage then and hadn't interfered so severely with his sense of right and wrong
chan's attorney sent dr chaplain's report on to the prosecution who weren't concerned it wasn't
surprising that the defense would take this kind of approach they had their own expert assess chand
as well and selected the equally renowned psychiatrist professor graham melsop his role was to be more skeptical to
make sure chand wasn't faking his symptoms professor melsop examined reports and
other material from the two separate attacks against christie marso he noticed that at the time of the
september assault akshay chant had been very clear about how and why he kidnapped christy nothing he
mentioned suggested he was experiencing a psychotic episode but when he spoke to detectives after
killing christy he mentioned a female accomplice who would kill again he hadn't elaborated on this at the time
but he was referring to pauline the voice in his head professor melsap interviewed chant he
told the professor the same things that he told dr chaplow melsop noticed that chand
sometimes made up words or used existing ones in strange ways as though he had his own personal
definitions for them he also made note of chan's extremely flat effect statements from people
who knew chant indicated his thinking had been disordered for some time he'd been obsessively fixated on
capitalism told various people he was suffering from cervical cancer despite being male and his conversation
was described as sometimes being weird and out of place all of these were symptoms that were
again consistent with schizophrenia it was noted that chan's father had battled severe depression as well
there was also a history of mental illness including schizophrenia on his side of the family
professor melsop came to the same conclusion that dr chaplain had when akshay chand had gone
to christie's house to kill her he had been legally insane this was not what the prosecution had
wanted to hear a third and final psychiatrist was consulted just in case but came back with the exact same
finding as the others with their own experts agreeing that chand could not be held
legally responsible for christie's murder there was no way they could go to trial
crown solicitor simon moore had the difficult task of notifying the massos in the months after christy's death
tracy had decided to proceed with her move to adelaide a move she'd planned to make with her
daughter there were simply too many painful reminders of christy at home simon moore flew from auckland to
adelaide so he could notify tracy and brian in person the couple were devastated to hear that
chant would not be going to trial for killing their daughter they found it incredibly difficult to
believe that chand had been insane at the time tracy had seen him herself he'd appeared
cold and rational and was able to follow through with a carefully organized plan
it wasn't until they met with professor graham melsop in person that they began to accept the findings
he explained that it was possible for an individual to carry out pre-planned actions
while still suffering from a disease that impacted their moral understanding yet even though the couple came to
understand where the experts were coming from they struggled to agree with them on september 27 2012
akshay chand pleaded guilty to the charges of kidnapping assault with intent to commit sexual
violation and threatening to do grievous bodily harm a month later he was back in auckland's
high court for his insanity hearing the experts who had assessed chant agreed that he should be detained
indefinitely as a special patient because he'd been able to carry out a brutal killing
and had mentioned wanting to harm others they believed he posed a real danger to
public safety his chances of recovery were considered low due in part to his young age at the
onset of his disease justice helen winkelmann ruled that a special patient order would be made for
akshay chant he would be detained indefinitely at the mason clinic a secure unit in auckland that provides
forensic mental health services the only way he will ever be released is if he's found to no longer be a danger
to the public an extremely unlikely possibility justice winkelmann also handed down a
sentence for the charges relating to chan's first assault against christie because christy wasn't able to share her
story for herself her parents had passed along her diary to justice winkleman tracy and brian had never read it
themselves but they knew christy had started keeping it after the attack as a way to process her ordeal
justice wink hellman spoke of the insight the diary had offered into christie's state of mind
telling chant following that kidnapping it is clear she continued to be afraid of you
she was frightened that you would return to harm her family and that fear only increased on your
release her journal also makes clear that she regarded her life as having been fundamentally changed
by what you did to her justice winkleman then sentenced chand to three years for kidnapping two
years for assault with intent to sexually violate and one year for threatening to do
grievous bodily harm he would also serve these years at the mason clinic outside the courthouse tracy and brian
marso addressed the media brian fought back tears as he said for us no sentence will ever be sufficient for
the loss of christy it will never bring her back or even make us feel that justice has actually been done
for us he will always be christie's murderer and in our eyes he will always be guilty
[Music] as well as viewing chant as christie's murderer damasos couldn't help but blame someone
else for their daughter's death they couldn't comprehend why judge david mcnaughton had approved
chan's bail application against the wishes of the police their family and christy herself
if chant had been kept in custody following his first violent assault then he never would have
been able to harm christie again much of the new zealand public shared their concerns
news articles honed in on the fact that chand had been bailed to a residence just
350 metres from christie's home despite saying he wanted revenge against her an organization called the sensible
sentencing trust got in touch with the marco family and helped them campaign to have bail laws
amended this led to the bail amendment act being passed into new zealand law in 2013.
this new act put the onus on defendants to prove they weren't a threat to the community
rather than having the police argue the opposite in june 2017 almost six years after
akshay chand killed christie marso an inquest was held into her death to explore the circumstances that resulted
in chant being granted bail judge david mcnaughton who has never spoken publicly about his decision
did not appear as a witness this was due to new zealand law preventing judges from being called to give evidence
the inquest took place over 13 days the coroner handed down a 127 page report in march of the following year
she found that christy was let down by multiple systemic failures and a lack of collaboration between
various departments and agencies judge barbara morris the first the judge to hear
chan's bail application had requested that an electronic monitoring assessment be completed for chant
this involves a suspect being fitted with a gps monitor so their whereabouts are tracked at all
times but neither the police prosecutors nor the defense followed up on this request
judge morris had denied bail partially because of how close chance home was to christie's but
judge david mcnaughton had not been told how close the two addresses were to each other the police prosecutor
who attended chan's second bail hearing had that information but did not share it with the judge
because she felt he was uninterested in police concerns and didn't give her an opportunity to
speak from her point of view he had already made his mind up in favour of granting
bail judge mcnaughton was also under the impression that chan's mother suchita his sister or his aunt would
stay with him at all times chan's lawyer had mistakenly identified his sister as a university student
when she was actually a juvenile who was still at school too young to take on such a role
judge mcnaughton didn't know that suchita had consistent work commitments and that his aunt needed to be at home
with her own child before school hours chan's family said that they had not been told that
constant supervision was expected of them the coroner also found that chan's initial mental health reviews had been
rashed and failed to provide a proper risk assessment in total she gave 10 recommendations to
the ministry of justice department of corrections the police and waitamata district health board
in the hopes of preventing a similar tragedy in the future tracy and brian marceau welcomed the
coroner's findings and said the inquest had revealed to them how christy had been
failed in multiple ways in an interview with analisk of the new zealand herald tracy said there was more than one hand
on the knife that day we're extremely grateful that the coroner's taken this so seriously finally someone's on christy's
side in a letter she wrote to christy one year after her death tracy revealed that she cried herself to
sleep most nights thinking that she had failed her daughter christy's father brian has also grappled
with guilt due to being overseas when his daughter was first kidnapped and later killed he had considered
leaving his job in australia but police had reassured him that christy would be safe
and his family needed the income in november 2012 the massos set up a legacy in their daughter's name
the christie marso charitable trust through fundraising and donations the trust provides annual scholarships for
teenagers to attend a course through outward bound christy had dreamed of completing
one of the organization's outdoor challenge courses but never had the chance to do so
tracy brian and christy's sister heather have all gotten matching tattoos of christy
on their shoulders as they told a journalist to analyse these symbolise how christie is always
watching their backs annelisk first interviewed the marcos just a few months after christy's death
and formed a strong friendship with them over the following year she later collaborated with tracy on a
book titled christy a family's tragic loss and a mother's fight for justice for tracy the book was a way to
immortalize her daughter and tell her story tracy's portion of the book concludes
with a letter addressed to christy that ends with the words the only way i can try to make sense of
it is to believe that you were a special person only lent to earth for a short time
to make change and spread good as much as it is agony that we lost you so soon i am so glad we were chosen to be your
parents because you brought so much joy to us and i learnt so much from your beautiful
kindness i will love you to the end of time and i will use the rest of my time to continue helping people in your name
i know you will be proud of that [Music] you

Case 179: Christie Marceau

On the morning of September 6 2011, Auckland teenager Christie Marceau was woken by a troubling phone call. On the other line was an acquaintance...

CREDITS

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

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-179-christie-marceau

Brief Summary

Christy Marso was murdered by Akshay Chand after he was released on bail despite previous violent behavior.

Key points

Christy's Call to Action. Christy receives a distressing call from Akshay, threatening to take his life.
A Dangerous Confrontation. Christy arrives at Akshay's home, only to face a terrifying situation.
Unexpected Change of Heart. After threatening Christy, Akshay suddenly lets her go, leaving her terrified.
Chand's Confession. Chand admitted to everything within minutes of police questioning.
Judge Denies Bail. Judge Morris denied bail due to public safety concerns and Christy's fears.
Tragic Attack. Tracy screamed for help as Chand attacked Christy, leading to a devastating outcome.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I put 40 pills into a drink...

3:56WatchJun 12, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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