Christopher Kahui

**Christopher "Cris" Arepa Kahui** (March 20, 2006 - June 30, 2006) was a 3 month old New-Zealander boy who was killed alongside his twin brother, Cru Kahui.

## Backstory

Cris and Cru Kahui were the two survivors of triplets born prematurely at 29 weeks by emergency caesarean section on 20 March 2006 at the National Women's Hospital in Grafton to parents Christopher Sonny Kahui and Macsyna Pono King. At the time of their birth, Macsyna was 29 and her partner, Christopher, was 21. They were already the parents of a 13-month-old son, Shane, who was born in 2005. Prior to that, Christopher King had already had three other children in two previous relationships, and met Macsyna through his father when she was 27 and he 19. However, the relationship was not always smooth, with a range of risk factors contributing to tension and instability for the couple prior to, and after, the arrival of their children.

After their birth, Cris and Cru spent six weeks at the neonatal intensive care unit at Middlemore Hospital. During this time, nurses and social workers at the facility had informally raised concerns with a worker from the New Zealand Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF), as the parents did not spend a lot of time with the twins. According to the hospital, parents not visiting is not considered child abuse, but was a "cause for concern".

## Events

On 13 June 2006, upon returning home after a night of partying, Macsyna found that the twins suffered extensive bruises and that their grandfather, Banjo Kahui, had performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on them. Banjo was not the only person in the house at the time. Extended family had said "a young relative", whom they refused to name, was caring for the infants on the day they were fatally injured. The twins' father, Christopher, refused to take the children to hospital, running away from the family car and leaving a distraught Macsyna carrying the twins in their carriers into the hospital on her own.

Doctors immediately discovered that the infants had serious brain injuries. Both had suffered skull fractures from blunt force trauma, and Cris had a broken femur. In order to break the femur of a baby, the bone would have to be deliberately bent at a 90-degree angle, ruling out an accidental cause of the injury. After the infants were transferred to Starship Children's Hospital, hospital staff notified the police. CYF removed Shane and their female cousin Cayenne, aged six months, from two rented Housing New Zealand homes – one in Clendon and the other in Mangere — where Cris and Cru had lived. Police said that Shane and Cayenne were treated in hospital for injuries resulting from "neglect", showing signs of malnourishment and poor hygiene.

Cris and Cru were ultimately taken off life support, with Cru being the first to die at 5 a.m. on 18 June. Cris died at 6:45 p.m. later in the day. The bodies were released to the family on 21 June for funerals.

## Investigation

The deaths of Cris and Cru resulted in an initial serious assault investigation by the New Zealand Police before charges were upgraded to homicide. The police believe that, while the infants were in hospital prior to their deaths, the Kahui family was uncooperative with any investigation.

After refusing to speak to police in the week after the death, police finally went to residences of the Kahui family on 27 June. At least four family members, including Macsyna and an aunt, were escorted to police stations. Forensic scientists, also, removed items such as clothing from the Kahui residences.

## Arrest

At 10 p.m., it was announced in a press conference that a 21-year-old man (Christopher Sonny Kahui) had been arrested and charged with the murder of the infants, and would appear in the Manukau District Court the next day. No other family members faced charges with relation to the deaths.

## Aftermath

Christopher Kahui appeared in the Number One court of the Manukau District Court on 27 October for a two-minute hearing, where he was formally charged with murder. He was asked not to plead; however, outside the court, Kahui's lawyer, Lorraine Smith, said her client would "fight the charges". Kahui was remanded in police custody until 10 November, when he was freed on bail.

Kahui was found not guilty on Thursday 22 May 2008, after only one minute of deliberation by the jury. The officer who led the police investigations into the murders, Detective Inspector John Tims, said he was "disappointed" at the verdict, finding "no evidence to support a charge against any other person and that includes the mother, Macsyna King".

Due to the not guilty verdict for the twins's father, Christopher Kahui, this case remains unsolved.