High Court rules serial rapist Malcolm Rewa will be tried a third time for Susan Burdett's murder

Serial rapist Malcolm Rewa will stand trial a third time over the 1992 killing of Susan Burdett.

Chief High Court Judge Geoffrey Venning has declined a last-ditch application by Rewa for the murder charge against him to be scrapped and for a permanent stay in proceedings.

Had Rewa’s application been successful, it would have brought an end to the case of who killed Ms Burdett.

At a pre-trial hearing last week, Rewa’s lawyer, Paul Chambers, said his client’s right to a fair trial had been prejudiced by media coverage, and, that there has been no fresh evidence.

The charge against Rewa follows a Privy Council ruling two years ago which cleared Teina Pora of killing Ms Burdett.

Mr Pora was twice wrongly convicted of Ms Burdett’s murder and spent 22 years in prison. He has since been granted a compensation package of $3.5 million and received an apology from the Government.

Rewa is serving 22 years in jail for the rape of Ms Burdett and 24 other women.

He denies killing her and has already faced two trials for her murder. She was raped and bludgeoned to death in her home.

Last week Mr Chambers argued "extraordinary" levels of publicity around the Burdett case and Pora's wrongful conviction. He specifically cited a recent TVNZ film, "In Dark Places", a dramatisation of Pora's story which attracted more than 230,000 viewers last month.

Crown prosecutor, Gareth Kayes, argued the trial should go ahead. Mr Kayes said the TVNZ film focussed on the story of Pora, not Rewa, and does not claim to be a documentary.

Mr Kayes' argument also pointed at international examples of trials going ahead under extreme global interest, including that of Abu Hamza - the hook-handed London hate preacher who was convicted of terrorism charges.

Mr Chambers and Justice Venning also discussed the possibility of Pora being called as a witness.

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