Teresa Cormack
Encyclopedia
Teresa Maida Cormack was a six-year-old murder victim from Napier, New Zealand
.
, with her mother, Kelly Piggot, and her younger sister Sara. Although reluctant to go to school on the day after her birthday, Cormack departed home on her normal walking route to Richmond Primary School, which was a short distance from where she lived. However, she did not go to school and instead wandered the streets in the suburb of Maraenui for around an hour.
Eight days later, Cormack's body was discovered at the base of a tree on Whirinaki Beach by a woman walking her dog, presumably having been dumped from the road. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped and suffocated.
s were found orally and in her underwear and semen
was found vaginally on Cormack's body. However, genetic fingerprinting
at the time was not advanced enough to find her killer.
Jules Mikus (born September 28, 1958), who committed many sex crimes as a teenager., was questioned by police and provided samples of his saliva and blood. Mikus provided an alibi for the time the abduction was believed to have occurred. Afterwards, he was excluded as a suspect.
Convicted rapist Stewart Murray Wilson
has consistently refused to provide a DNA sample for testing.
. Due to advances in genetic fingerprinting, a minute sample of semen stored sealed between two microscope slides was able to be profiled in 2001 by technicians at ESR (Environmental Science & Research, a Crown Research Institute owned wholly by the New Zealand government).
Despite having this profile, an arrest was not immediate. A public television broadcast by the detective in charge and seen by Mikus provoked a reaction in front of the people with whom he lived but they did not contact police. Eight-hundred and forty-five blood samples had been taken, of these, four were of insufficient quality to make a profile. After nearly a year of testing the blood (taking until February 22, 2002), only one blood profile matched the semen and it came from Mikus.
On 26 February 2002, fifteen years after Cormack's death, police arrested Mikus for the murder. Although Mikus pleaded not guilty, a jury found him guilty for kidnapping, rape, sexual assault and murder.
In 2004, Rowene Marsh-Potaka (who had campaigned to stop her brother from being paroled for murder) collaborated with Cormack's mother Kelly Piggot to write an anti-parole
song. They wanted the song to let people know that offenders such as Mikus should serve their full sentences. Piggot also has a daughter named Hannah.
Paul Rothwell's play Golden Boys, which ran at Circa Theatre in early 2006, was inspired by the Cormack case.
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
.
Teresa's death
Teresa lived in Napier, New ZealandNapier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, with her mother, Kelly Piggot, and her younger sister Sara. Although reluctant to go to school on the day after her birthday, Cormack departed home on her normal walking route to Richmond Primary School, which was a short distance from where she lived. However, she did not go to school and instead wandered the streets in the suburb of Maraenui for around an hour.
Eight days later, Cormack's body was discovered at the base of a tree on Whirinaki Beach by a woman walking her dog, presumably having been dumped from the road. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped and suffocated.
Investigation
Three male pubic hairPubic hair
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....
s were found orally and in her underwear and semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
was found vaginally on Cormack's body. However, genetic fingerprinting
Genetic fingerprinting
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier...
at the time was not advanced enough to find her killer.
Jules Mikus (born September 28, 1958), who committed many sex crimes as a teenager., was questioned by police and provided samples of his saliva and blood. Mikus provided an alibi for the time the abduction was believed to have occurred. Afterwards, he was excluded as a suspect.
Convicted rapist Stewart Murray Wilson
Stewart Murray Wilson
Stewart Murray Wilson , known as the Beast of Blenheim, is a notorious criminal from Blenheim, New Zealand. He is currently in Rolleston Prison....
has consistently refused to provide a DNA sample for testing.
Breakthrough
The Cormack murder case was re-opened in 1998 and new testing was done at a crime lab in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Due to advances in genetic fingerprinting, a minute sample of semen stored sealed between two microscope slides was able to be profiled in 2001 by technicians at ESR (Environmental Science & Research, a Crown Research Institute owned wholly by the New Zealand government).
Despite having this profile, an arrest was not immediate. A public television broadcast by the detective in charge and seen by Mikus provoked a reaction in front of the people with whom he lived but they did not contact police. Eight-hundred and forty-five blood samples had been taken, of these, four were of insufficient quality to make a profile. After nearly a year of testing the blood (taking until February 22, 2002), only one blood profile matched the semen and it came from Mikus.
On 26 February 2002, fifteen years after Cormack's death, police arrested Mikus for the murder. Although Mikus pleaded not guilty, a jury found him guilty for kidnapping, rape, sexual assault and murder.
Aftermath
The case attracted widespread interest in New Zealand.In 2004, Rowene Marsh-Potaka (who had campaigned to stop her brother from being paroled for murder) collaborated with Cormack's mother Kelly Piggot to write an anti-parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
song. They wanted the song to let people know that offenders such as Mikus should serve their full sentences. Piggot also has a daughter named Hannah.
Paul Rothwell's play Golden Boys, which ran at Circa Theatre in early 2006, was inspired by the Cormack case.
External links
- A mother's lament for Teresa Cormack March 13, 2004 Anne Beston New Zealand Herald
- Advances in DNA testing bring Cormack Case to Court Crime.co.nz
- Teresa Cormack homicide, 19 June 1987 New Zealand PoliceNew Zealand PoliceThe New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...
website - In Memory Of Teresa Cormack (In conjunction with JonBenét RamseyJonBenét RamseyJonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
memorial website) - Find A Grave - Teresa Maida Cormack
- Fond memories of the girl who became a sad symbol