Police review cold case homicide investigation on the 40 year anniversary of 1980 rape and murder of Alicia O'Reilly in Auckland
15 Aug, 2020
Alicia O'Reilly, left, and her sister Juliet, 8, in a family photo taken shortly before Alicia was murdered. Photo / Supplied
''EXCLUSIVE: Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her bed on 16 August 1980. The six-year-old had been raped and murdered, and her killer has never been caught.For her mother Nancye O'Reilly, the death of Alicia feels like yesterday. She's given up hope of justice but still has questions, which a police review of the 40-year-old cold case want to answer.
Auckland detectives are re-investigating the senseless rape and murder of a six-year-old girl on the 40th anniversary of her death.
Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her own bed on 16 August 1980 with her sister Juliet, 8, sleeping just metres away in the same room of their Avondale home.
The horrendous crime shocked the country and hundreds of suspects were questioned in the homicide investigation, with every home and business in the neighbouring suburbs visited by police officers.
A few physical clues were left behind at the Canal Rd home, but forensic science was rudimentary in the 1980s and matching DNA to suspect samples was science fiction at the time.''
''On the eve of the milestone anniversary of the little girl's death, the Weekend Herald can reveal that detectives from Auckland City are actively re-investigating the cold case.
"This is unfinished business," says Detective Inspector Stu Allsopp-Smith, who as a young trainee detective scoured the lawn outside the O'Reilly home for evidence 40 years ago.
"This case is one that has never ever gone away. It's certainly stayed with me throughout my whole career."
To protect the integrity of the investigation, Allsopp-Smith can't reveal why the police have renewed interest in the cold case.''
15 Aug, 2020
Alicia O'Reilly, left, and her sister Juliet, 8, in a family photo taken shortly before Alicia was murdered. Photo / Supplied
''EXCLUSIVE: Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her bed on 16 August 1980. The six-year-old had been raped and murdered, and her killer has never been caught.For her mother Nancye O'Reilly, the death of Alicia feels like yesterday. She's given up hope of justice but still has questions, which a police review of the 40-year-old cold case want to answer.
Auckland detectives are re-investigating the senseless rape and murder of a six-year-old girl on the 40th anniversary of her death.
Alicia O'Reilly was found dead in her own bed on 16 August 1980 with her sister Juliet, 8, sleeping just metres away in the same room of their Avondale home.
The horrendous crime shocked the country and hundreds of suspects were questioned in the homicide investigation, with every home and business in the neighbouring suburbs visited by police officers.
A few physical clues were left behind at the Canal Rd home, but forensic science was rudimentary in the 1980s and matching DNA to suspect samples was science fiction at the time.''
''On the eve of the milestone anniversary of the little girl's death, the Weekend Herald can reveal that detectives from Auckland City are actively re-investigating the cold case.
"This is unfinished business," says Detective Inspector Stu Allsopp-Smith, who as a young trainee detective scoured the lawn outside the O'Reilly home for evidence 40 years ago.
"This case is one that has never ever gone away. It's certainly stayed with me throughout my whole career."
To protect the integrity of the investigation, Allsopp-Smith can't reveal why the police have renewed interest in the cold case.''