It was a bizarre and chilling case which shocked a nation and refused to go away - five members of a family murdered in their home. Only the eldest son was left alive, to be tried, convicted and jailed for the killings.
The murder of the Bain family in the South Island town of Dunedin in 1994 is one of New Zealand's most violent and controversial crimes. It resulted in the 1995 sentence of David Bain to life imprisonment.
Now, after years of appeals and debate, Bain, 36, is out and awaiting a retrial. His conviction was overturned on May 10 in London by the Privy Council, which concluded a 'substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred'.
This prompted New Zealand's solicitor general, David Collins, on June 21 to order a new trial - set to begin next May. A retrial was necessary because 'it is one of the most horrific cases in New Zealand's history', he said.
As Bain emerged from prison on bail, relaxed and confident, he had considerable public support. Sixty per cent of respondents to a poll by the New Zealand Herald and DigiPoll believe he is not guilty. Fifty-seven per cent believe there should not be a new trial.
Looking somewhat gaunt, the Bain who came out from jail appeared different from the reserved young man who went on trial in 1995. He told supporters the Privy Council decision had been 'a huge relief'. Asked how he had coped with 13 years in prison, he replied: 'I have had a lot of friends who have kept me going.'
The crimes to which he will be indelibly connected happened on a cold June day in 1994. Early that morning, while most of Dunedin's 100,000 or so residents were sleeping, a killer bearing a .22 rifle with a silencer attached began a murderous rampage at 65 Every Street. First he entered the bedroom of Margaret Bain, shooting the 50-year-old mother of five at close range while she slept. Then he crept into the bedroom of 18-year-old Laniet Bain and shot her three times.