Too Little Too Late

Macsyna King (pictured) cries at the inquest of her two twins, Chris and Cru Kahui who were brutally murdered in 2008, aged three-months. The babies were brought to Starship hospital in Auckland after they failed to "respond." The coroner's report claimed the boys died of severe brain injuries and had older injuries, such as fractured ribs and a broken leg. 

In 2008, Chris Kahui, the twins' father, was acquitted of their murder. During that trial, Chris never uttered a word. From the public perspective, it looked as if two babies died and someone, literally, got away with murder. 

Now, two years on, and the inquest into the death of the twins is underway. It is not a criminal case. No one is being accused. No one will be held accountable. The purpose of this inquest, as far as I can see, is to molly coddle the truth out of those who know what happened - as a form of enticement, they will never have to deal with the consequence.

My initial, knee-jerk, reaction to this case a few years ago was to assume the guilt lay fair and square on Chris Kahui's shoulders. After all, he was the one the Police arrested and one would assume from that, that they must have had some really good evidence, right? I admit it must be an almost impossible task for the Police. I mean, how can one prosecute someone or even interview, ask, or enquire into his actions when he refuses to take the stand and talk? That was his legal right and he took it. The result was a stonewalling of the truth and Kahui walked out of Court, a free man. 

The Police never charged the mother, Macsyna King, because there was insufficient evidence and now... well now we have this inquest. The only real difference is Kahui is now no longer silent. He openly accuses King of killing their sons.  

The upside to our legal system is that it needs to be precise in order to get a conviction. The downside is it needs to be precise in order to get a conviction. The reality is, we will never see justice for the two babies but we can still know and share the communal truth of what really did happen. In other words, when you can't nail a slippery slug to the ground, all you can do is surmise with what information you do have.

King now admits she was in Auckland on the night the babies were fatally injured. Previously, she said she was out of town and that kind of provided an alibi really. Two years later, she suddenly remembers she was actually with the babies.. go figure. She also now "remembers" putting the babies into a bath that night. It sounds all very mothering and all but the babies were actually unconscious at the time. And why was she bathing them? Well she wanted them to at least smell nice when they entered the ICU later that evening. And enter she did. 

According to one ICU nurse, King was jovial and very communicative. However, when one of the twins stopped breathing in ICU, King told another nurse "I don't give a shit. I need to sleep." 

Opps, that maternal halo is starting to slip a little at this point but then again, is it any wonder? King admits to having used methamphetamine that night. I guess her nonchalant response could be put down to her 'coming down.' Kahui was apparently visiting his sick mother in hospital the night of the fatal injuries but I'm not too sold on his innocence either. He claims he never knew King was using "P"..how the hell can someone not notice a mind-altering-substance and what about those historical injuries? One of the poor babies had a broken leg. Did he not notice that either as he 'apparently' fed them at 5pm that evening? Okay, maybe you can miss a broken leg with all its swelling and bruising, so what about the fractured ribs then - did they not kind of look a little tender perhaps? 

Babies cry when they're hungry, wet and/or need attention. We all know this. They also have a single blood curdling scream specifically designed to eliminate any doubt that there is something more substantial happening to them. Chris and Cru Kahui were born with this innate survival tool and they used it - not one baby but both would have exercised that inherent primal scream in pain and both King and Kahui would have recognised that. 

The latest update is King claiming there is a 'Kehau' (a ghost) haunting her over the death of her twins. Well I certainly hope so and also hope the bloody thing never leaves her side for a minute and calls in a few mates to haunt that father as well.

Kahui changes mind over mother's responsibility | Stuff.co.nz