I Fed The Baby

Understanding the events of Pukekawa in June 1970 cannot be just limited to analysing bullets and working out who ‘made’ a couple of dead bodies. John’s criticism of the Police bias and failure to think laterally shows this well. … [Read more...] about IFTB – Publisher’s conclusions

Events relating to Arthur Allan Thomas’ involvement, arrest, legal events and supposed guilt are preposterous and totally contrived. Much salient information was suppressed and/or ignored by the Police. Informants were maltreated, sometimes substantially . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 31: Whodunnit?

In 2010 the Minister of Police initiated a Review intothe Police Investigations into the Crewe murders. Afterdigesting their 2014 Report I found myself agreeing withsome of their conclusions but not all . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 30: Investigation Failures

I mentioned in Chapter Two that Leslee’s confession triggered my investigation into the Crewe murders. It’s no exaggeration to say that this has been a painful lifelong experience, but it started with trying to understand Leslee . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 29: Leslee

In hindsight, and in general, one can now see the larger side of the pattern in the fight for control of the estates. From the hidden agendas of the shareholders to those looking after the welfare of Rochelle, came a battle of minds and ultimately cunning moves that had winners and losers . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 28: Len’s Master Plan

The reason why the bodies of Jeannette and Harvey Crewe were moved from their house created a lot of discussion, speculation and head scratching but it was during the process of establishing who might be guilty that more questions were popping up for me than answers . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 26: Answers Well Hidden

Had Demler been telling lies and why was he stalling for time during the process of reporting what he had discovered at the Crewe homestead? He certainly took his time but there was a logical reason and it had everything to do with timing. I will be putting my head on the block by quietly revealing clues to the identities of the most likely villains . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 25: The Aftermath

It’s now time to narrow the focus to what happened on 17 June leading up to the brutal double murder and of the events during the following five days. There’s a heap of information available from a wide variety of sources so my intention, for the record, is to provide a brief account of this period along with some thoughts related to the findings that I have talked about … [Read more...] about IFTB – 24: The Days Between

In an early chapter I said experts worldwide claim that crime comes down to–99 times out of a hundred–love, hate, or money. In the case of the Crewe murders, it was money and lots of it! The question is, “Did this crime come from within the family or was it from those who had outstanding amounts in arrears from the Chennells family trust?” … [Read more...] about IFTB – 23: In the Days Before

The next major episode in the timeline of the murders revolves around the administration and management of Maisie’s estate after her death in February 1970. There were issues with carrying out the provisions of her will while processing her probate . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 22: Inventory of Assets

The Police never worked out why the Crewes were murdered mainly because they failed to come up with a logical motive. The one they thought had a motive slipped through their fingers and the one they convicted never had a real motive . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 21: Opinion and Failures

Maisie Demler passed away on 26 February 1970 and less than five months later, on 17 June 1970, Jeannette and Harvey Crewe were last seen alive, the day before their 4th wedding anniversary . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 20: Legacy of Greed

Most followers of the Crewe murders were only able to point the finger at ‘whodunnit’ from the information reported in the media or from the long-running court hearings but motives go further back than yesterday . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 19: It Didn’t Start Yesterday

Brief mention has been previously made on the roles played by Maisie’s trustees, particularly Alf Hodgson and Colin Sturrock but a new name is being thrown into the mixture of deceit and drama . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 17: The Heat was On

Len Demler was starting to show the pressure he was under and while he could see his future going down the gurgler for the hundredth time, he gathered his thoughts and figured out how he was going to gain the upper hand . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 18: Len gets Anxious

Very little has been written about Dianne Heather Demler. What we do know is her birth date of 21 January 1942; she goes by her middle name of Heather; she went to school at Pukekawa then St Cuthbert’s; left school and became an air hostess in New Zealand, then her life changed . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 16: What about Heather?

Chapter 24 of Chris Birt’s book The Final Chapter examines the claim that Maisie Demler’s signature on her Last Will and Testament was possibly forged . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 15: False Signatures?

The reader may have noticed by now that one person seemed to be keeping close tabs (and tight control) on the family’s inheritance. That person was Maisie Demler . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 14: Common Denominator

Events were coming to a head between Chennells Estate trustees during the early 1960s with the risk of shady deals being exposed by others involved . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 12: At the Crossroads

Life was settling down for Len but it was to be the calm before the storm. The years 1961 and 1962 were full of upheavals . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 11: Humiliation for Len

The Police initially had Len Demler as their prime suspect. English author David Yallop agreed and wrote that “the man in the target sights of Hutton’s gun was Len Demler” and Taupo author Chris Birt was equally confident in 2001 that Len was the killer . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 9: Demler Family

Using her birth year of 1873 Nellie Chennells would have been aged around 40 when she arrived in New Zealand and as a cross reference, her husband was listed on the 1911 electoral roll which makes the dates close enough to add up and work with . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 8: Was Nellie in Charge?

On the face of it the last will and testament of Nellie Chennells seemed straight forward, but only if one was not aware of land in England. According to her husband’s will there was land in England so what happened to it? It will be remembered that Nellie was not named as a beneficiary in her husband’s will nor in any of the probates. We said earlier that her entitlement as … [Read more...] about IFTB – 7: Land in England?

Newman followed his real estate interests in Auckland (and Tuakau) which left an opening for his son Howard to take over the running of the Section 7 farm . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 6: Howard Takes Over

Newman Chennells arrived in New Zealand from England in 1911 where he had previously been earning a living as a land agent and auctioneer . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 5: Properties Purchased

It was enough to drive any sane person crazy! … [Read more...] about IFTB – 3: Searching for the Truth

Before my eyes I saw her go into hysterics, then she fell to the floor not unlike a person who is having a fit . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 2: I Fed the Baby!

One of the most sensational and documented murder mysteries in New Zealand remains unsolved regardless of an innocent man being sent to prison for murders he did not commit . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – 1: Evils of this World

This chapter gives a little of my background, where I grew up and went to school, my hunting skills and what that taught me about patience and failure. Then, as a bushman and about how I eventually ended up in Whangarei and met the woman who later fell on the floor . . . … [Read more...] about IFTB – About the Author

The double murder of Harvey & Jeanette Crewe in June of 1970 mesmerised the New Zealand public as the related events were literally front-page news at the time–usually daily–and for years. … [Read more...] about IFTB – Publisher’s Introduction

This is the raw text of the book 'I Fed the Baby - Confession & Motives in theCrewe Murders Cold Case' by John Ingley. Sadly, it was never published as intended by the author, at least in printed form, until after online publication due to division & dysfunction within his surviving family and a lack of effective legal instruction. It is an honour though to publish it … [Read more...] about I Fed the Baby (IFTB)