Bain family murders

On 20 June 1994, Robin and Margaret Bain and three of their four childrenArawa, Laniet, and Stephenwere shot to death in Dunedin, New Zealand. The only suspects were David Cullen Bain, the eldest son and only survivor, and Robin Bain, the father. David Bain, aged 22, was charged with five counts of murder. In May 1995, he was convicted on each of the five counts and sentenced to mandatory life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of sixteen years.

David's case was taken up by businessman and former rugby player Joe Karam. In 2007, his legal team, guided by Karam, successfully appealed to the Privy Council, arguing that Robin Bain was involved in an incestuous relationship with one of his daughters. When this was about to be disclosed, he killed everyone in his family except David and then committed suicide. The Privy Council declared there had been a 'substantial miscarriage of justice'. Bain was released on bail in May 2007. The retrial in June 2009 ended with his acquittal on all charges.

The case has been described as "the most widely discussed and divisive in New Zealand's criminal history". Speculation about it continued long after David was acquitted, including whether or not he should receive compensation for the years he spent in prison. Ian Binnie, a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, was appointed in November 2011 to review the circumstances and advise the government on whether compensation should be paid. Binnie concluded that the Dunedin police made 'egregious errors' and that the 'extraordinary circumstances' in the case justified the payment of compensation. This report was rejected by the Minister of Justice, Judith Collins, on advice from the police, the Solicitor-General and High Court Judge Robert Fisher.

Following Judith Collins' resignation, in March 2015 the government appointed Ian Callinan, a retired justice of the High Court of Australia, to conduct a second review of David's compensation claim. Callinan concluded that David was not innocent on the balance of probabilities. David's legal team indicated they would contest the report's findings in Court. The Government offered David an ''ex gratia'' payment of $925,000 to put an end to the drawn out dispute over compensation which David reluctantly accepted. Provided by Wikipedia