Deane Fuller-Sandys, who worked as a tyre fitter, disappeared in Auckland, New Zealand on 21 August 1989 after going fishing. His body was never found. Leah Stephens disappeared five days later, although her body was not found for another three years. It was not until 1997, after another eight years had passed that police decided to investigate possible links between their deaths. The police developed a theory that in August 1989 Gail Maney asked Stephen Stone to kill Deane Fuller-Sandys over what the police portrayed as a drug-related dispute. Police alleged Stone carried out the hit in Gail Maney's garage in broad daylight in front of at least eight other people; that he then passed the gun around and forced several other people to shoot him as well; and that a week later he raped and murdered Leah Stephens, said to be one of the eight witnesses, to prevent her going to the police.
No forensic evidence was presented linking any of the defendants to the alleged victims. The prosecution relied entirely on the testimony of two men and two women the police said were witnesses, all of whom were granted legal immunity.'It's been a very long wait' – Gail Maney's 27-year battle to prove she is innocent goes to Court of Appeal, RNZ, 13 August 2024. The two men were alleged to have actually participated in the murder of Fuller-Sandys. Based on the combined testimony of these individuals – subsequently found to be fabricated – in 1999, Gail Denise Maney (born 1967) and Stephen Ralph Stone (born 1969) were convicted of Fuller-Sandys' murder. Stone was also convicted of Stephens' rape and murder, and two other men were convicted of being accessories to murder.
The two women who testified they were present at Fuller-Sandys' murder later recanted, saying they were coerced by police into making false statements. During the Court of Appeal hearing in August 2024, the court heard that the two men who claimed to be present at the murder had changed their stories significantly multiple times. Stephen Stone's son files complaint over Crown Solicitor's statement, OneNews 13 May 2025 The lead detective, Mark Franklin, was accused of manipulating these 'witnesses' and lying to the court.
While in prison, and after she was released, Maney continued to maintain she never even met Fuller-Sandys, let alone had anything to do with his disappearance. She made numerous unsuccessful appeals, but was eventually released on parole, after spending 12 years in prison. However, she was recalled four times, spending a total of 16 years inside. In 2020, Stephen Stone also appealed against his convictions.
The case was subject to ongoing controversy in the media, and in July 2024, the Crown prosecutor conceded that a miscarriage had occurred, In October 2024, the convictions of all four defendants were overturned and declared to have been a miscarriage of justice. Stone was released on bail a few days later, although the Court ordered he should be retried. In April 2025, the Crown prosecutor said there was no longer sufficient evidence to conduct a retrial. Stone spent 26 years behind bars before his convictions were overturned.
Private investigator Tim McKinnel said the events described by police witnesses were "complete and utter fantasies", and a wide-ranging inquiry was needed into each of the layers of the justice system that led to the convictions of four innocent people. Commenting on how long it took for the convictions to be overturned, Stone's lawyer, Annabel Maxwell-Scott observed that the state does not like to admit its mistakes, adding: "They protect the police, and they protect the convictions, even in the face of overwhelming, irrational, illogical evidence."
Disappearances On 21 August 1989, Deane Wade Fuller-Sandys, a 21-year-old Auckland tyre-fitter, left home to go fishing. He never returned. His body was never found and authorities initially believed he probably drowned after being swept out to sea at West Auckland's Whatipu Beach, where his car was discovered shortly afterwards. An old friend of Fuller-Sandys later told police that he may have committed suicide, as he had just broken up with his girlfriend.
Five days later, on 26 August 1989, Leah Romany Stephens, a 20-year old Auckland sex worker, disappeared. Her skeletal remains were discovered in a forest near the Muriwai Golf Course three years later, in June 1992. There were no obvious injuries to the skeleton and the cause of death could not be determined.
After Stephens' skeleton was found in 1992, police launched a murder investigation, but it did not lead to an arrest at the time.
Police investigation
After an unsubstantiated tip-off eight years after the disappearances, police began interviewing anyone who might have information. Gail Maney was a former sex worker. Based on interviews with her acquaintances, including former flatmates and a neighbour, police developed a theory that Fuller-Sandys had sold Maney drugs; that she believed Fuller-Sandys was responsible for a burglary of her rental home in 1989 during which the drugs were retrieved and clothing was stolen; and that she then persuaded 19 year old Stephen Stone, a gang member, to kill him in revenge.
After a two-year police investigation, Gail Maney was charged with commissioning Stephen Stone to murder Fuller-Sandys. Stone was also charged with murdering Leah Stephens to ensure her silence after she allegedly witnessed Stone shooting Fuller-Sandys. Gail Maney's younger brother Colin Neil Maney (born 1971) and a mutual acquaintance, Mark William Henriksen (born 1967), were charged with being accessories to the murder of Fuller-Sandys by shooting him after Stone handed them the gunFour people convicted of 1999 murder to find out their fate, RNZ, 2 October 2024 and then helping to dispose of his body.
In 2024, Julie-Anne Kincade KC, acting for Gail Maney, described evidence from the people whose initial contacts with police sparked the entire investigation as the "rumour and gossip witnesses."
First trial Lack of forensic evidence The trial was held in March 1999 at the Auckland High Court. All four accused pleaded not guilty and Gail Maney said she didn't know Fuller-Sandys and had never even met him. The Crown prosecutor was unable to produce any forensic evidence such as DNA, blood-matches or weapons, and Fuller-Sandys' body had not been found.
The alleged plot to kill Fuller-Sandys The prosecution case relied heavily on the testimony of four people police alleged were eyewitnesses: two men and two women who were interviewed eight or more years after Fuller-Sandys and Stephens disappeared. Based on their testimony, the police alleged that on 21 August 1989, Fuller-Sandys was enticed to come to Maney's rental home in Larnoch Road in Henderson on his way to go fishing; and that when he arrived, he was attacked by Stone, who then shot him in front of Maney and seven other witnesses, including Leah Stephens. Passing the gun The alleged witnesses subsequently testified that Stone passed the gun to each of four males, including Colin Maney and Mark Henriksen, and directed them to fire bullets into the body to make them complicit in the murder. The two males who were granted name suppression and immunity from prosecution stated they disposed of Fuller-Sandys' body in Woodhill Forest, although his remains have never been found. His vehicle was supposedly left at Whatipu Beach to make it appear he had drowned there.
The alleged murder of Leah Stephens The alleged witnesses also stated that five days later, Stone, believing that Leah Stephens was likely to inform police of the murder of Fuller-Sandys, raped and then murdered her with a knife at the house in Larnoch Road. They were all granted name suppression and immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony. One of them was given $30,000 and a new identity. Lack of disclosure The judge and jury were unaware that two important documents had not been disclosed to the defence prior to the trial. One of those documents suggests the police pressured key witnesses to make up specific statements that fitted the police theory. The other highlighted collusion had taken place to get entirely different versions of events by two witnesses to make the same allegations.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Franklin, who led the police investigation was strongly challenged by defence lawyers over whether he had bullied these alleged witnesses, or pressured them to change their stories to match a predetermined police narrative, but he denied doing so.
Despite repeated questioning by police, one of the males who testified against Maney and Stone said he told police: "I swore black and blue that I had no knowledge of it." After spending half an hour alone with Detective Mark Franklin, he suddenly remembered both crimes – which helped police tie the two cases together.
Sentencing After two days' deliberation, the jury found Stone and Gail Maney guilty of the murder of Fuller-Sandys. Stone was also found guilty of the rape and murder of Stephens. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment. Stone also received a 10-year concurrent sentence for raping Stephens. Colin Maney and Mark Henriksen were convicted of being accessories to the murder of Fuller-Sandys by helping to dispose of his body. Henriksen was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, while Colin Maney (the youngest of the accused) received a two-year suspended sentence.
Subsequent events
Appeals and retrial All four appealed their convictions, but Stone and Colin Maney were unsuccessful. Gail Maney and Henriksen gained a retrial on the grounds that the original trial judge had not adequately summed up the case for their defence to the jury. Both were found guilty again at their retrial in June 2000. During the retrial, one of the alleged witnesses with name suppression was asked by a defence lawyer whether he had ever asked for $30,000 to come back from overseas to give evidence. The man replied "Yes... to cover my costs, losing work."
In 2005 and 2007, Gail Maney filed further appeals (to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, respectively) after one of the key females recanted her original trial testimony implicating Maney. At this time, the judges were unaware that key documents had not been disclosed to the defence, which proved that police had amalgamated differing witness statements into one incriminating narrative – and both appeals were dismissed. Gone Fishing documentary In June 2018, Radio New Zealand and Stuff released Gone Fishing, a documentary podcast about the case. People interviewed included Gail Maney, some of the so-called witnesses, and former detective Mark Franklin. Maney said the documentary gave her story more media attention. It led to the involvement of private investigator Tim McKinnel, who had worked to overturn the wrongful conviction of Teina Pora, and then three prominent lawyers, Julie-Anne Kincade, Nicholas Chisnall, and Aieyah Shendi, agreed to represent Maney as she continued trying to clear her name.
In December 2023, a recall application was filed on Maney's behalf asking the court to retract their 2005 decision dismissing her original appeal against her murder conviction. In addition to two key people recanting, McKinnel said one of the most concerning aspects of the appeal in 2005 was that "the trial judge from her 1999 trial, who was criticised in her 1999 appeal appeared on the appeal bench in 2005."Gail Maney murder conviction appeal filed to court, RNZ, 24 December 2023.
Parole Maney was released on parole in 2010, but recalled in 2012, 2017 and 2020 primarily for drug related issues, with the Corrections Department claiming she was difficult to manage. Gail Maney – 23/04/2020, NZ Parole Board, 23 April 2020. Altogether, she served a total of 16 years in prison. If her conviction had not been overturned, she would have been on parole for life.