Edward Te Whiu
Edward Te Whiu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 February 1935 |
| Died | 18 August 1955 (aged 20) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
Edward Thomas Te Whiu (27 February 1935 – 18 August 1955) was a notable New Zealand criminal and murderer. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Nga Puhi iwi. He was born in Waipapakauri, Northland, New Zealand, in 1935.[1] Te Whiu was hanged at Mount Eden Prison in August 1955, after he had killed Florence Smith, a 75-year-old widow, in Ngararatunua, near Kamo, when an attempted burglary went wrong.[1]
Evidence was given that he had calmly cooked himself a meal in the next room to the corpse of his aged victim. The "completely non-adjusted a-social youth" went happily to his death. He took a cigarette an hour before the hanging, smiled and said, "won't it be wonderful to be in heaven where cigarettes can come flying through the air." One of his last requests was to have his religious comics thrown into his grave with him.[2]
References[]
- ^ a b Young, Sherwood. "Edward Thomas Te Whiu". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Department of Justice (1974) [1968]. Crime in New Zealand: A Survey of New Zealand Criminal Behaviour. Wellington: A R Shearer Government Printer. pp. 68, 70.
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- 1935 births
- 1955 deaths
- New Zealand people convicted of murder
- People from the Northland Region
- People executed by New Zealand by hanging
- Ngāpuhi
- People convicted of murder by New Zealand
- People executed for murder
- Executed New Zealand people
- 20th-century executions by New Zealand
- 1950s murders in New Zealand
- 1955 crimes in New Zealand
- 1955 murders in Oceania
- New Zealand Māori people
- New Zealand crime biography stubs