Catching a killer

Police have new evidence and a fresh theory about who might have killed Kirsty Bentley in 1998. CHRIS COOKE puts one of our best-known cold cases back in the spotlight.

- CHRIS COOKE

It remains one of this country’s highest-profile unsolved crimes. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve in 1998, Ashburton schoolgirl Kirsty Bentley set off for one of her frequent walks with her pet Labrador. She never returned.

Now, more than two decades after her mysterious murder, police have a fresh view on what might have happened.

Detective Inspector Greg Murton took over the investigation in 2014 and since then he’s been poring over every detail in the massive file, and pursuing his own inquiries. In a rare glimpse into how murder investigations are conducted, he has revealed the existence of evidence not previously made public, and a new profile of the likely killer.

To give new impetus to the case, police have posted a reward of up to $100,000 for anyone who can help them close it.

Both the review and the reward have come too late for Kirsty’s father, Sid, who died in 2015. But they offer both relief and hope to her brother, John, and mother, Jill, who have struggled to cope with the aftermath of what they claim was a flawed investigation from the beginning.

FAMILY UNDER SUSPICION

Kirsty was just 15 when she left the house on that sweltering afternoon. It was 34°C and she was looking forward to seeing in the New Year with her boyfriend by the family pool.

"She was in love - she was very, very happy. Kirsty had a life ahead of her," recalls Jill from her home in Invercargill, where she has lived for more than a decade.