Lundy guilty
Mark Lundy has been found guilty of murdering his wife and daughter by a re-trial jury at the High Court in Wellington.
It is the second time he has been found guilty of the crimes.
Lundy, 56, had pleaded not guilty to bludgeoning to death his wife Christine, 38, and the couple's seven-year-old daughter Amber at the family home in Palmerston North in August 2000.
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He was first convicted of the murders in 2002, and spent 12 years behind bars before the Privy Council in London quashed his conviction and ordered a re-trial.
During the three-day Privy Council hearing his lawyers argued the Crown case had relied on "bad science" and there had been a miscarriage of justice.
The Privy Council said new expert evidence raised "substantial questions" about the Crown's case.
Lundy's retrial began in February this year, and the guilty verdict was handed down this afternoon.
Justice Simon France reimposed the same sentence as had been set following Lundy's Court of Appeal bid, which was life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
The 12 years Lundy has already spent in prison will be credited towards the sentence.
Lundy had always maintained his innocence and claimed he was in Petone at the time his wife and daughter were murdered.
The Crown alleged Lundy's investment in a risky wine venture and a potential life insurance payout were his motives for killing his wife.
Amber was killed because she allegedly witnessed the attack on her mother, prosecutors said.
The Crown said tissue from Christine Lundy's central nervous system found on a navy polo belonging to her husband linked him to the murders.
The shirt was found by police inside-out in a suit bag in Lundy's car days after the killings.
Prosecutors said the only way fresh brain could have become embedded on the shirt was if Lundy was wearing it and in the room where his wife was killed.
However, defence contested evidence from five international experts who had testified they had detected brain tissue on Lundy's shirt.
The defence, led by David Hislop QC, said it was impossible for Lundy to have driven from Petone to Palmerston North and back again on one tank of petrol.
Pathologists and forensic scientists testified mother and daughter had been repeatedly struck with a small axe or tomahawk.
Their bodies were discovered about 9am on August 30, 2000 by Mrs Lundy's younger brother.
The murder weapon has never been found.
Following today's verdict, Detective Inspector Marc Hercock acknowledged it had been an emotional and stressful time for Christine and Amber's family who had been forced to go through the whole judicial process again.
"While this outcome by no means makes up for the loss of Christine and Amber, we hope it provides some form of closure.
"I want to acknowledge Crown Law and the investigation team who have worked diligently for more than 18 months, carefully reviewing evidence and preparing for trial, as well as the witnesses and experts who have contributed their time and expertise to this trial," he said.
"The role of the police is to gather all information available, assess it for its relevance to the case and present the evidence gathered to the court and then leave it to the jury to make a decision."
