David Bain: The Man Who Was Wrongfully Convicted of Killing His Family

The story of David Bain

By Rare StoriesPublished 7 months ago • 4 min read

David Bain, who died of cancer on July 12, 2023, at the age of 51, was a New Zealand man who was convicted and acquitted of killing his five family members in Dunedin in 1994.

He spent 13 years in prison before being released on bail in 2007 and found not guilty at a retrial in 2009. He claimed that his father, Robin, was the killer who shot himself after murdering his wife and three children.

Early Life

David Bain was born in 1972 in Papua New Guinea, where his parents, Robin and Margaret, worked as missionaries. He had three siblings: Arawa (19), Laniet (18), and Stephen (14).

The family moved back to New Zealand in 1988 and settled in Dunedin. David attended Taieri High School and later studied music at Otago University. He was an aspiring opera singer and a keen runner.

Convicted of Killing His Family

On June 20, 1994, David Bain was arrested and charged with killing his five family members at their home in Every Street, Dunedin. They were all shot with a .22 rifle that belonged to David. The police found David's fingerprints on the rifle and the ammunition. They also found blood on his clothes and injuries on his body. They also recovered a computer message that read: "Sorry, you are the only one who deserved to stay."

The police believed that David killed his family in the early morning before going on his paper run. They alleged that he had a motive to inherit his father's life insurance and to get rid of his dysfunctional family. They also claimed that he staged the scene to make it look like his father was the killer.

David denied killing his family and said that he found them dead when he returned from his paper run. He said that his father was the killer who shot himself after killing his wife and children. He said that he had no motive to kill them and that he loved them. He also said that the computer message was written by his father as a suicide note.

David's trial began in May 1995 at the High Court in Dunedin. The trial lasted for three weeks and involved more than 100 witnesses and thousands of exhibits. The jury deliberated for six hours before reaching a verdict on May 29, 1995. They found David guilty of five counts of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years.

How He Was Acquitted at a Retrial

David appealed his conviction several times, but his appeals were dismissed by the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council. However, in 2007, he received a new chance to prove his innocence when the Privy Council quashed his conviction on the grounds of a substantial miscarriage of justice.

The Privy Council ruled that there was new evidence that cast doubt on the Crown's case and that David's defense team at the first trial was incompetent.

The new evidence included:

- A witness who saw Robin wearing bloody clothes on the morning of the killings

- A pathologist who testified that Robin's blood type matched the blood found on David's clothes

- A forensic expert who testified that the rifle had two sets of fingerprints on it

- A psychologist who testified that David suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after finding his family dead

- A computer expert who testified that the computer message could have been written by Robin before or after the killings¹²

David's retrial began in March 2009 at the High Court in Christchurch. The retrial lasted for 12 weeks and involved more than 200 witnesses and thousands of exhibits. The jury deliberated for five days before reaching a verdict on June 5, 2009. They found David not guilty of all charges and acquitted him of killing his family.

David Sought for Compensation

After his acquittal, David sought compensation from the government for wrongful imprisonment. He claimed that he was entitled to $3.5 million for the 13 years he spent in jail. However, his claim was rejected by the government, which said that he had not proven his innocence on the balance of probabilities. The government also said that there were serious doubts about his credibility and reliability.

David Bain received nearly $1 million despite not meeting the Government's standard for compensation.

David challenged the government's decision in court, but his case was dismissed by the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear his case in 2022. However, before the hearing could take place, David died of cancer on July 12, 2023, at a hospice in Christchurch. He was 51 years old.