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Genevieve Asks Viewers To Turn Detective
Award-winning journalist Genevieve Westcott
has murder on her mind, Sharon Course discovers.
TV Guide

It takes a lot to shake the steely nerves of tough TV journalist Genevieve Westcott. But as she stood on a lonely bridge in Arrowtown on a cold night, watching shadowy figures throw a lifeless body over the edge and into the river below, a genuine shiver went down her spine.

"In that moment, as I stood there, seeing it all unfold in front of me, I really related to the murder victim," says Genevieve. "I felt for her. I thought, 'Wow, that could have been me.' She became a real person, not just a name and a photograph. I understood what she had been through and it was unbelievably moving."

But before cops race around to get a witness statement, Genevieve didn't see a real body being dumped that night in the popular South Island holiday town. Instead, the scene was a spookily accurate reconstruction of a real murder, that of Maureen McKinnell.

Her killing is one of New Zealand's 10 most chilling and baffling murders that feature in Genevieve's new TV1 show Unsolved.

"Unsolved is about real lives, real families who are still grieving, years after the crime," she says, her enthusiasm for the project undisguised.

"Then there are the police officers who, even now, are still working on these murders, trying to find new leads that will help them track down a killer.

"I was so impressed by the police officers I met. I said to one of them that if I was a crime victim, I'd want him to investigate."

It took two years for production company Touchdown to make Unsolved. During that time, Genevieve worked hard to gain the confidence of police officers - and her determination paid off.

"They opened the files to us, let us use crime scene photographs and amazing details that were not made public at the time," she says.

"We've been able to recreate crime scenes right down to the last tiny detail, so the viewers are really there, taking it all in.

"New evidence is revealed, and could shed new light on what happened.

"When murder occurs, it's big news, but the headlines fade and public interest dwindles if the killer is never caught. Unsolved is about the impact unsolved homicides have on those left behind, and those involved really bare their souls."

One of the most devastating murders Genevieve revisited was the death of six-year-old Alicia O'Reilly in Auckland 22 years ago. The little schoolgirl was murdered in her bed while her sister slept nearby.

"The bedroom was reconstructed accurately, right down to the last tiny detail, and we follow the killer climbing in through the window and seeing Alicia in her bed," says Genevieve, who is a mum-of-one. "In fact, we used the cover that was on her bed at the time, that her mother Nancye had kept for all those years.

"It is heartbreaking for families to lose anyone, particularly children. Some of the people we interviewed had never spoken before.

"Through all this, we want people to see the victims as people again, rather than headlines and photographs that are fading from memory. It's crucial to take the viewers back in time, so they feel like they are really there."

To get this amazing feeling of the time of a murder, each half-hour episode delivers three separate in-depth stories in one.

First, Unsolved talks to the senior cop overseeing each investigation. In some cases, they've been on the case for more than 20 years and it has haunted their lives.

Next, Unsolved meets the family of the victim and tells how their lives have changed forever.

Finally, the viewers are asked to turn virtual detective, examining the clues and identifying the prime suspects in the hopes that somewhere, someone watching the series will know more - and come forward with vital new evidence that might help solve the crime.

Genevieve, who is one of New Zealand's most respected and award-winning investigative reporters, with more than 20 years' experience under her belt, has the ultimate hope that Unsolved will finally bring a killer to justice.

"This is one of the most exciting TV programmes I've been involved in," she says.

"If just one of these crimes is solved, if just one killer is caught thanks to someone coming forward or someone's memory being jogged, then that would be incredible for everyone involved.

"No matter how many years have gone by, there are people out there who know exactly who these murderers are, and it's never too late."

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