Last year, we began our adventure with Discovering Deaf Worlds in Christchurch, New Zealand. On our very first day we met and connected with an outgoing, happy go lucky girl named Emma at the Canterbury Deaf Club. She was a leader, a good friend, and committed to improving the lives of deaf people in NZ. She invited us to her home for NZ-style fish fries and we got to know her circle of friends, trading off ASL for NZSL. When we parted a week later, we had no idea it would be the last time we would see her.
During our travels through the South Island of NZ, Emma had gone missing. Eleven days later her body was found. A man named Liam Reid was quickly arrested for the rape and murder of Emma Agnew, as well as the rape and attack on another woman from Dunedin.
On October 29, 2008, the grueling four-week trial finally closed with a sense of relief, tears and bursts of anger at the man who could have done such a thing. Reid was found guilty on all six charges and sentenced to life in prison. Over 100 witnesses testified before the jury reached it's verdict.
Emma...we hope you are up in heaven finding peace, that your family and friends are finding comfort in the sentence, and that your NZ community will continue to be reunited. It was an honor for us to know you and you will be remembered, always.
To learn more about the trial go to
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411365/2249945
http://news.google.com/news?client=safari&rls=en&q=liam+reid&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&hl=en&ncl=1263412554&sa=X&oi=news_result&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=
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