A close friend of Susan Burdett has backed up claims she was in a 'secret, sexual relationship' with the man accused of murdering her
A close friend of Susan Burdett has backed up claims she was in a 'secret, sexual relationship' with the man accused of murdering her
20 February 2019
Malcolm Rewa is on trial, accused of bludgeoning the 39-year-old accounts clerk to death in her South Auckland home in 1992.
He was convicted of raping Burdett in 1998 - but two juries that year were unable to decide whether he also killed her.
Herald reporter Sam Hurley says her friend took the stand today with claims Burdett told her of a secret relationship, with a married Maori man with gang ties.
He says she didn't raise that with Police at the time but did provide a statement in 2017.
The Crown suggests it's a false memory and prosecutor Gareth Kayes has accused Rewa of fabricating a relationship - in an effort to explain how his semen was found in Burdett.
© 2024 Newstalk ZB, NZCity
