Bassett Road machine-gun murders

The bullet-ridden bodies of Frederick George Walker and Kevin James Speight were found in a ransacked house at 115 Bassett Rd, Remuera, Auckland. A team of 32 detectives began an immediate search that led to the arrest of Ron Jorgensen and John Gillies on New Year’s Eve.

Frederick Walker was a 38-year-old commercial traveller; Kevin Speight, aged 26, was a seaman. Police concluded early in the investigation that the two victims were also sly-groggers – traders in illegal alcohol. The bootleg booze trade was a hot part of the Auckland criminal underground and seemed to be a key to the motive for the murders.

The coroners concluded that the men had been dead for two or three days when their bodies were found. The murder weapon was thought to be a .45-calibre machine gun. The man leading the police investigation was Detective Chief Inspector Robert Walton, who was to be Commissioner of Police from 1978 to 1983.

The first major lead came when future Prime Minister Robert Muldoon introduced Walton to a man he believed could assist with the case. It was this man who first pointed to John Gillies as a possible suspect. Although Gillies initially refused to answer questions, police work soon established a link between him and Jorgensen. The latter was unaware that he was under investigation until his arrest on 31 December. Gillies was arrested the same day.

The trial of the two men began on 24 February 1964. Although both denied the charges against them, Gillies did admit in court to having purchased a machine gun. After four hours of deliberation, the jury found both Jorgensen and Gillies guilty; each was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jorgensen came to public attention again in 1984, following his release from prison, when his abandoned car was found at the bottom of a cliff near Kaikōura. Though his body was never found, he was declared dead in 1998. Rumours abounded about his whereabouts, with many believing he had become a police informant in Australia. His fate remains unknown.

Image: Ron Jorgensen (TVNZ)