The Mystery Man, the Ketch and the Police
tonyr
Search for mystery ketch
The author of a book on the Olivia Hope-Ben
Smart murders has asked the international
boating community to help trace a yacht he says
is a perfect match to the mystery ketch witnesses
said the pair boarded.
The yacht is called Steppenwolf and was owned by
an Australian linked to a drug smuggling ring.
Mike Kalaugher, author of The Marlborough Mystery,
has posted information about the ketch on
international boating websites in an attempt to
trace its movements.
Hope and Smart disappeared early on New Year's
Day, 1998. Scott Watson was convicted of their
murders, but there has always been speculation a
mystery ketch was involved in the case.
Kalaugher believes the ketch, reported by
witnesses, exists.
He said Steppenwolf "matches exactly and in detail"
descriptions given by several witnesses, including
water taxi driver Guy Wallace who said he delivered
them to a 12-metre timber ketch (two masts) which
had a white hull except for a dark band at porthole
level.
Police concluded these witnesses were mistaken
and charged Watson with murdering the pair aboard
Blade, his single-masted steel sloop which is half
the size.
Steppenwolf was owned from the early 1980s by Jim
Howard, a central figure in a book by Australian
couple Brian and Alison Milgate.
The Milgates called in at the Southern Indian port of
Cochin to repair their yacht and found themselves in
the middle of a drug smuggling operation.
In their book the Milgates said while Howard
claimed to be a photographer, he was involved in
drug smuggling, gun running and spying, possibly
for the Australian secret service.
The couple's information led to the 1983 seizure by
the United States' coast guard of a freighter
carrying hashish worth $200 million bound for mafia
buyers. The freighter was skippered by New
Zealander Donald Dickinson, who along with its
three crew pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess
nearly 15 tons of the drug.
In 1984 the British Sunday Times reported Howard
had an extensive criminal record, which included at
least two prison sentences, and he had been
deported from Africa. Kalaugher is trying to find out
whether Steppenwolf was in New Zealand when
Smart and Hope disappeared.
His inquiries indicated the ketch had been in
Maldives, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka and in
the early 1990s, Indonesia and Thailand.
Kalaugher said he didn't know whether Howard, who
would be in his late 70s, still owned the boat or
was alive.
In his appeal for information - carried on boating
websites www.chasediversified.com/boatwatch
Kalaugher said neither Watson's supporters nor
police had identified a ketch that matches
witnesses' descriptions.
"The Steppenwolf, however, matches the description
exactly and in detail. This is the only boat we have
so far found that is a perfect match."
16.6.02 INL
Police dismissive
The police officer in charge of the Hope-Smart
murder inquiry has dismissed new efforts to find
a mystery ketch.
A Sunday Star-Times article this week reported
author Mike Kalaugher's search of the international
boating community for Steppenwolf, a yacht
formerly owned by an Australian linked to a drug
smuggling ring.
Detective Inspector Rob Pope said the ketch theory
ignored the outcome of the "exhaustive" police
investigation.
Ben Smart and Olivia Hope disappeared in the early
hours of New Year's Day 1998. Picton man Scott
Watson was convicted of the murders, despite
insistence by witnesses of a mystery ketch.
Mr Kalaugher said Steppenwolf fitted perfectly the
description given of the ketch by the likes of water
taxi driver Guy Wallace, who said he dropped the
friends off to a 20-metre timber ketch (two masts)
which had a white hull with a dark trim around the
top.
Police concluded these witnesses were mistaken
and charged Watson with murdering the pair aboard
Blade, his single-masted steel sloop, which is half
the size.
Mr Kalaugher, a Waiheke Island accountant and
yachtie, wrote The Marlborough Mystery, which
claims the police investigation was fatally flawed
and there was no way Watson could have killed the
pair.
The book contends Ben and Olivia boarded and were
later seen on the mystery ketch, but that police
rejected this early on and focused on Scott Watson
as the only real suspect.
Mr Pope said: "Extensive inquiries were made both
in the Marlborough Sounds, around New Zealand
and internationally. As a result of that we are quite
clear there was no identification of a ketch involved
with the disappearance of Ben and Olivia."
Mr Pope said the views and speculation of Mr
Kalaugher "fly in the face" of facts as they have
been presented to a court.
Mr Kalaugher said an identikit picture released by
police of the ketch did not accurately portray the
witness descriptions.
He has interviewed all those who sighted the
mystery vessel – including Mr Wallace – to gain a
better picture of what they saw.
The different accounts arrived at a consistent
picture of a yacht with hull, masts and rigging that
"matches exactly" Steppenwolf, but differed from
the identikit picture.
"I'd be very surprised if it (the mystery ketch) is
not
that boat," Mr Kalaugher said.
Steppenwolf, also known as Tim Shel, was owned
from the early 1980s by Jim Howard, a central figure
in an Australian book which claimed he was involved
in drug smuggling and gun running.
Mr Kalaugher is trying to find out whether
Steppenwolf was in New Zealand when Smart and
Hope disappeared.
He did not know whether Howard, who would be in
his late 70s now, still owned the boat or was still
alive.
Mr Kalaugher said he had had a flood of e-mails and
other responses since Sunday's article and he would
continue the search.
Watson's father Chris, who is conducting his own
ongoing investigation into the case to clear his
son's name, has had regular contact with Mr
Kalaugher.
Mr Watson said whether or not Steppenwolf was the
mystery ketch, it "deserved to be eliminated".
He remains bitter the police stopped following the
mystery ketch line of inquiry within days of the
pair's disappearance.
"Especially considering the number of witnesses
(who saw the ketch). They were the people that
were there. It's a pretty cold trail now."
19.6.02 INL
jeremiah
Maybe...
Imagine two guys in a cell or the yard. One says.."Wadder you here
for?"
So what does Watson say? He should say...I'm being framed... it's a
set-up...
Or does he smirk, put his hand down in his trousers and then boast
about what happened.
When the testimony was given, Watson shook his head as if to
say...That's not what I said. OK, so the place to refute A and B is
the witness stand. He declined.
So, either A and/or B are telling the truth, or something near it...
or are accomplished and practised liars. They were subjected to
cross-examination, and were not broken.
I couldn't tell a fib, I'd be sure to get caught out by a question I
hadn't thought of!
Check this out... the final witness for the prosecution told of
knowing SW for 20+ years, ie, since SW was about 7 or 8. SW was
staying with him prior to being arrested. It came over on TV that the
Navy had seen something odd on sonar and the Police were going to dive
there next day. WAtson said... "Huh, they won't find anything THERE"
When asked (on radio) what he (the witness) thought about the verdict,
he said...Yes, he did it... when you know someone that long you
know....
Maybe the jury remembered that and thought... to hell with ketches,
sloops, DNA, hairs, A and B, etc... let's go with someone who knew
Watson, knew his attitudes, his body language, his History (the jury
didn't know about SW record) his capability.
Hang the bastard.
tonyr
>Watson confessed. Remember?
>
>I couldn't tell a fib, I'd be sure to get caught out by a question I
>hadn't thought of!
You are possibly not able to tell the truth either
heres a test for you to focus on
what exactly is the message in the following statement
"the road to Hell is paved with Good intentions"
>
>Check this out... the final witness for the prosecution told of
>knowing SW for 20+ years, ie, since SW was about 7 or 8. SW was
>staying with him prior to being arrested. It came over on TV that the
>Navy had seen something odd on sonar and the Police were going to dive
>there next day. WAtson said... "Huh, they won't find anything THERE"
>When asked (on radio) what he (the witness) thought about the verdict,
>he said...Yes, he did it... when you know someone that long you
>know....
Bullshit .. you dont even know yourself let alone others.
>Maybe the jury remembered that and thought... to hell with ketches,
>sloops, DNA, hairs, A and B, etc... let's go with someone who knew
>Watson, knew his attitudes, his body language, his History (the jury
>didn't know about SW record) his capability.
>Hang the bastard.
You are really a 'maybe' kind of fellow eh?
With an lazy ignorant attitude to life like that i would not trust you
to be able to distinguish fact from fantasy. If i was a judge i might
consider the possiblity of putting you in jaol just to get you out of
circulation. I really dislike the dithering prejudiced attitudes to
life.
Your the Bastard here go hang yourself and do us all a favour.
\Scott Watson info homepage..
http://trudyandtom.tripod.com/homepage.htm
\Police malicious prosecutions.. ???
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/nzpolice/framed.html
There's so much good among the worst of us
And bad among the best of us
That it ill becomes any one of us to talk about the rest of us
And when we're laid beneath the sod with a hundred years to back it
There's none will know which were the bones which wore the ragged jacket
Roger Dewhurst
"jeremiah" <jmc...@pielink.com> wrote in message
news:4f1a8ba6.03112...@posting.google.com...
> Watson confessed. Remember? A and B secret witnesses. Believable?
> Maybe...
Two with reputations as prison narks. One recanted anyway. Just who got
those put in a cell with Watson?
> Imagine two guys in a cell or the yard. One says.."Wadder you here
> for?"
> So what does Watson say? He should say...I'm being framed... it's a
> set-up...
Other inmates suggest that he never answered questions like that, merely
walking away.
>
> Or does he smirk, put his hand down in his trousers and then boast
> about what happened.
> When the testimony was given, Watson shook his head as if to
> say...That's not what I said.
Or, what what a bloody liar.
>OK, so the place to refute A and B is
> the witness stand. He declined.
Probably he was advised by his lawyer not to go on the stand. His lawyer
may have even considered that Watson may have been guilty. With that
opinion in mind advising Watson not to testify was the normal course.
> So, either A and/or B are telling the truth, or something near it...
> or are accomplished and practised liars. They were subjected to
> cross-examination, and were not broken.
Accomplished liars used on other occasions by the police and getting reward
for giving evidence.
>
> I couldn't tell a fib, I'd be sure to get caught out by a question I
> hadn't thought of!
>
> Check this out... the final witness for the prosecution told of
> knowing SW for 20+ years, ie, since SW was about 7 or 8. SW was
> staying with him prior to being arrested. It came over on TV that the
> Navy had seen something odd on sonar and the Police were going to dive
> there next day. WAtson said... "Huh, they won't find anything THERE"
Why not? He knew he had not put the bodies there. Perhaps he knew that he
had not put the bodies anywhere.
> When asked (on radio) what he (the witness) thought about the verdict,
> he said...Yes, he did it... when you know someone that long you
> know....
>
> Maybe the jury remembered that and thought... to hell with ketches,
> sloops, DNA, hairs, A and B, etc... let's go with someone who knew
> Watson, knew his attitudes, his body language, his History (the jury
> didn't know about SW record) his capability.
> Hang the bastard.
That is a long long way short of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Witnesses saw Watson return to his own boat. No-one saw Watson return to
shore. Indeed he had no means to do so.
Witnesses saw a different man accompany the two victims to another boat.
Basically the suspect looked different and went to a different boat.
The DNA evidence might mean something if it was not contaminated, but it
could have been.
R