Source: Radio New Zealand
Malcolm Rewa in court in 2019. POOL
Warning: This story contains graphic details.
Serial rapist and convicted killer Malcolm Rewa was linked to the rape of a 16-year-old from the 1980s after the victim went to police asking them to run DNA from her attack through their database.
Rewa is serving a life sentence in prison after being found guilty of the 1992 murder of Papatoetoe woman Susan Burdett in 2019.
He was already serving a sentence of preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of 22 years, having been convicted of sexual attacks on 25 women.
Rewa pleaded guilty in February in the High Court in Auckland to one charge of sexual violation by rape that dated back to 18 June 1988. He will be sentenced on 17 April.
On Friday, RNZ was released the agreed summary of facts for Rewa’s latest offending.
The summary says the victim, then 16, attended a 18th birthday party in Onehunga on the evening of the incident.
The teenager, who had been consuming alcohol, left the party to have a break and get some fresh air.
While sitting on the curb of the street the teenager could hear people laughing and talking.
Rewa approached her from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. The victim, now in her 50s, recalls saying to him something like “I’m not feeling good”.
Rewa then wrapped a rope around her neck, suffocating her.
“The complainant was trying to clutch at the rope and pull it away from her neck, however she was unsuccessful. The defendant held the rope tightly around her neck causing her to lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen.”
Rewa then dragged her to the rear of a nearby property.
“As the complainant regained consciousness, she was pushed face first onto the wet grass. She began to panic, she started yelling and swearing. The defendant pushed her down further until she was flat on her stomach.”
As she struggled against Rewa, he grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back.
“The defendant removed the complainant’s leather jacket and using the same rope he earlier used around her neck; he tied her hands together.
“This caused the complainant to believe she was going to die, and she could no longer physically fight back.”
Every time she screamed, Rewa would tell her to “shut up” or “shut up b****” and would cover her mouth with his hand.
He then gagged her with her pantyhose.
“The gag was so tight that the complainant felt like she couldn’t breathe, and her front tooth ripped out.”
Rewa then raped the woman while her top covered her face and her hands were bound.
After the rape stopped, he told her to stay where she was, or he would come back.
“As the complainant lay there in fear, she could hear the defendant footsteps walking away from her on the wet lawn.
“When the complainant could no longer hear the defendant’s footsteps she got up. Unable to see, she stumbled until she found a tree and rubbed against it to remove the clothing covering her face.”
She then ran back to the party and told the first person she saw she was raped. Her hands were still tied and her top was still pulled up.
Police were called and completed a forensic medical examination and they found the suspect’s DNA.
At the time of the incident the woman did not know who had attacked her and there was no DNA databank available to compare samples taken from the complainant with. The DNA databank became available in 1996.
“In 2025, the complainant called the Police 105 line and asked if her medical swabs still existed, and if they had ever been compared against the DNA databank. She noted that the nature of the attack on her made her think that the person may well have offended against someone else.
“Enquiries revealed that the swabs did still exist. They were run against the DNA databank. The DNA from the semen matched Malcom Rewa.”
When asked about the incident, Rewa declined to comment.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard earlier confirmed to RNZ police had charged a man over a historical stranger sexual assault in Auckland that took place during the late 1980s.
“An investigation was carried out at the time when the alleged rape occurred in Onehunga on 18 June 1988.
“Enquiries available to detectives at the time were unable to identify the perpetrator.”
In May last year the complainant contacted police to review her case.
“This was assigned to an investigator in the Auckland City Adult Sexual Assault Team.
“Police have since charged a 72-year-old man with rape.”
Beard was unable to go into the specifics of the 2025 enquiries given court proceedings were under way.
“However, it is pleasing that we can bring this matter to the courts on behalf of the complainant, given there is no statute of limitations on this sort of offending.”
Malcolm Rewa at his sentencing in March 2019. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Failed appeal
Rewa fought for a retrial of his conviction with the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed in January 2023.
His lawyers had argued his trial lawyer, Paul Chambers, was “incompetent”.
They also argued a witness, whose name and other details have been suppressed by the court and who was in a sexual relationship with Susan Burdett, had motive to kill her.
After failing to have his conviction overturned Rewa later applied to appeal in the Supreme Court, calling his trial a miscarriage of justice.
A decision from the Supreme Court said his appeal was filed nine months late, but due to the extensive material to consider, this was allowed.
However, his appeal has been dismissed as the Supreme Court said there was no risk of a miscarriage of justice.
Teina Pora was wrongly imprisoned for 20 years for the rape and murder of Burdett.
Pora was convicted in 1994, found guilty again at a retrial in 2000, but eventually the convictions were quashed by the Privy Council in 2004.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/how-police-linked-malcolm-rewa-to-a-rape-in-the-80s/