Marty Johnstone

Christopher Martin "Marty" Johnstone (1951–1979) was a New Zealand drug trafficker born in Auckland who was called "Mr Asia" by the Auckland Star newspaper in August 1978 in a series of articles by Pat Booth.{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2246080/A-vicious-filthy-thug-without-conscience |title=A vicious filthy thug without conscience |author=Booth, Pat |date=10 March 2009 |work=Stuff |publisher= |accessdate=6 December 2009}}

Murder

In October 1979, Johnstone was lured to Britain on the pretext of a drug deal to take place in Scotland. He was murdered by Andy Maher, by order of Terrance John Clark, and his handless body was dumped in Eccleston Delph, Lancashire.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/television/news/article.cfm?c_id=339&objectid=3604235 |title=In crime, it pays not to talk |author=Hewitson, Michele |date=27 October 2004 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=20 October 2011}} Maher cut off Johnstone's hands and mutilated his face in a vain attempt to foil dental identification by the police.Lomas, David (23-29 October 2004). "[http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3363/features/2779/the_fall_of_mr_asia,1.html;jsessionid=E91BCE983E974E60262392CA4EBBC5E8 The fall of Mr Asia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603005307/http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3363/features/2779/the_fall_of_mr_asia,1.html;jsessionid=E91BCE983E974E60262392CA4EBBC5E8 |date=2009-06-03 }}". New Zealand Listener. 196 (3363)

Terry Clark, along with four others, was subsequently convicted of murdering Johnstone and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial at Lancaster Castle (during its time as HM Prison Lancaster) in 1980 was conducted under heavy security and was Britain's most expensive case at that time.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/lancashire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8296000/8296851.stm |title=Handless corpse case uncovered |date=8 October 2009 |work=BBC Lancashire |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |accessdate=2009-10-16}} Clark suffered a heart attack in 1983 and died in prison on the Isle of Wight.Homan, Ray, "Peter Fulcher and the Mr Asia syndicate", [http://www.policeassn.org.nz/communications/newspdf/PoliceNewsJune06.pdf Police News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408010508/http://www.policeassn.org.nz/communications/newspdf/PoliceNewsJune06.pdf |date=2009-04-08 }} (New Zealand), Volume 39, Number 5, June 2006, page 135.

The case was dramatised in an episode of the TV series Crime Story titled "All Good Friends: The Case of the Handless Corpse" (1992).

Marty Johnstone

Murder

References

Further reading