Media statement by Chris Kahui in response to coroner's court findings on the deaths of the Kahui twins:
1. Chris Kahui, the father of Chris and Cru Kahui, today rejected outright the findings of the Coroner's Court at Auckland into the deaths of the Kahui twins. Mr Kahui said that he objected in the strongest possible terms to the Coroner's findings and criticisms of him personally. These were completely inconsistent with his previous acquittal of any involvement in causing the deaths of the twins, following a High Court jury trial which lasted seven weeks and examined all of the available evidence in great detail. Mr Kahui also reaffirmed that he denies any involvement in the tragic and untimely deaths of the twins.
2. While Mr Kahui is disappointed with the Coroner's findings and the outcome of the Inquest, he does draw attention to the following statement by the Coroner [at paragraph 184 of his report]:
"[The Coroner's] Court is concerned only with questions of fact. Questions relating to criminal responsibility have already been tried out and disposed of in the High Court. Chris Kahui was found not guilty of the murder of the twins. The question of how the twins came to meet their deaths is quite different to the question of whether Chris Kahui bears any responsibility in terms of the criminal law for their deaths. He has been found to bear no such responsibility."
3. Although he strongly disputes and is most dissatisfied with the outcome of the Inquest, Mr Kahui is of the view that it is important for all involved to bring matters to a close so far as ongoing legal processes flowing from the tragic deaths of the twins are concerned. He is therefore discontinuing his judicial review proceedings in the High Court at Auckland brought against the Coroner's Court at Auckland. Equally in that spirit, Mr Kahui and his legal representatives will be making no further comment to the media in relation to these matters.