Episode
259: The Killing of Kirsty Bentley | New Zealand
- Podcast
- Evidence Locker True Crime
- Published
- May 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1334
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://audioboom.com/posts/8887265
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Summary
On New Year's Eve 1998, fifteen-year-old Kirsty Bentley vanished while walking her Labrador, Abby, near the Ashburton River in Canterbury, New Zealand. Seventeen days later, her body was found hidden in dense scrub at Camp Gully, Rakaia Gorge, 40 kilometres away. She had been killed by a single blow of blunt force trauma to the head. Despite decades of investigation under Operation Kirsty, hundreds of suspects interviewed, a 2016 coroner's inquest, and a $100,000 reward offered in 2022, no one has ever been charged. New Zealand's most haunting cold case murder remains unsolved. Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files , available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube , Facebook , Instagram , X , TikTok For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon 25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network , solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ Resources Web Wikipedia New Zealand Police: Hot Spot: Op Kirsty Articles Killer Blow: the Kirsty Bentley mystery New evidence in cold case murder The curious case of Kirsty Bentley’s murder DNA could crack open Kirsty Bentley cold case Kirsty Bentley murder: Police offer $100,000 reward Kirsty Bentley cold case narrows to 10 suspects Brother John Bentley speaks on Ashburton cold case Teen’s killing still unsolved after 18 years (coroner inquest, 2016) Lawyer sounds warning over $100,000 Kirsty Bentley murder reward Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.