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- Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, two young New Zealanders, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, 1 January 1998. The two friends had been celebrating on New Year's Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds with other partygoers. The pair accepted an offer from a stranger to stay aboard his yacht in the early hours of the morning. It was the last time they were seen alive and their remains have never been found. The disappearance of the duo sparked one of the most publicised investigations in the history of New Zealand. After a five-month investigation, Scott Watson was arrested and charged with the murder of Smart and Hope. The only physical evidence presented at court which linked Watson to the couple was two blonde hairs that were alleged to be Hope's found on a blanket on his boat. Watson's trial generated considerable media attention and public debate. After an eleven week trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of seventeen years. For over 20 years, Watson has maintained that he is innocent and has filed several unsuccessful appeals. In June 2020, it was announced that his case would be referred back to New Zealand's Court of Appeal. The disappearance of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope and the conviction of Scott Watson remain a subject of on-going speculation in New Zealand as a possible miscarriage of justice. The case has been the subject of several books and documentaries. (en)
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- 52979 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger)
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- Endeavour Inlet, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand (en)
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- Smart and Hope presumed dead in absentia (en)
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- Ben Smart, Olivia Hope (en)
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- June to September 1999 (en)
- Justice Dick Heron presiding (en)
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- Disappearance, presumed murder (en)
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- Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, two young New Zealanders, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, 1 January 1998. The two friends had been celebrating on New Year's Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds with other partygoers. The pair accepted an offer from a stranger to stay aboard his yacht in the early hours of the morning. It was the last time they were seen alive and their remains have never been found. The disappearance of the duo sparked one of the most publicised investigations in the history of New Zealand. (en)
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- Murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope (en)
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