Maungatapu Murders

The Maungatapu murders were the events surrounding the murders of five people on the Maungatapu track in two separate attacks, near Nelson, New Zealand which occurred on 12 and 13 June 1866. Four people were charged with the murders, three were hanged, and one was pardoned after giving information about the murders and information which allowed the other members of the group to be convicted. The group of four have been named the Burgess Gang after the leader Richard Burgess. The gang was composed of Richard Burgess, Joseph Thomas Sullivan, Philip Levy, and Thomas Kelly (birth name Thomas Noon). The victims were James Battle, George Dudley (son of Edward Dudley), John Kempthorne, James de Pontius, and Felix Mathieu.

Read more about Maungatapu Murders:  The Burgess Gang, The Murders, The Arrest, The Trial, The Execution, Fate of Sullivan

Famous quotes containing the word murders:

    Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
    John Adams (1735–1826)