Catrin Owen

Auckland

Senior Journalist at Stuff.co.nz

Senior journalist covering courts, crime and justice for @NZStuff | Cymraeg🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 | [email protected]

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Articles

Man loses appeal in Taranaki baby abduction case

4 days ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Sudhin Thanawala |Krystal Gibbens

A man jailed after the abduction of a baby in North Taranaki has lost a court appeal where he argued the charge had “over-criminalised” his behaviour. In June last year, Michael Jai Smith was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to 21 charges, including the May 10, 2024, child abduction charge which led to a week long manhunt to find him.
Trump says Iran and Israel to have a phased-in ceasefire over 24 hours

4 days ago | stuff.co.nz | Richard Knowler |Glenn McConnell |Catrin Owen |Poppy Clark

Iran launches attack on US forces at Qatar's Al Udeid BaseWASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Monday on social media that Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” to be phased in over 24 hours. The US president said on Truth Social that the ceasefire would bring an “Official END” to the war, a major change in the hostilities that follows a US strike over the weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Bayesian superyacht lifted from seabed

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Nicole Winfield |Hamish McNeilly |Catrin Owen |Lolita Baldor

The wreck of the Bayesian superyacht, which sank in a storm off Sicily and claimed the lives of seven people, has been raised from the seabed. The 184ft (56 metres)-long British vessel, with its guard rails bent and its hull covered in algae, was pulled from a depth of 150ft (45m) by giant cranes mounted on two floating platforms on Friday afternoon. It was the first time it had seen daylight since capsizing and sinking in a violent storm last August.
‘Bride Hard’ is neither ‘Bridesmaids’ nor ‘Die Hard.’ Discuss.

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Diane McCarthy |Lee Tulloch |Hamish McNeilly

Because film critics should be honest about their biases, I’ll start with a confession: I’ve long had an aversion to Rebel Wilson. The Australian comic actress has built a career on being “subversively” crude, often punctuating punchlines by sticking out her tongue in a way that feels more adolescent than edgy.
3-pound puppy left in trash is rescued, now thriving

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Diane McCarthy |Lee Tulloch |Hamish McNeilly

In late May, a husky puppy arrived at a shelter in Austin weighing just three pounds, about half the weight she should have been. She was fished out of the bottom of a rubbish bin, whimpering, cold and barely clinging to life. “The animal welfare space sees these stories constantly,” said Elizabeth Ferrer, marketing and communications program manager of Austin Animal Center. Staff reached out to Austin Pets Alive, a local animal rescue that has specialised veterinary care.
With ally Iran under attack, Hezbollah stays out of the fray for now

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Carly Gooch |Chris Marriner |Shilpy Arora Gaikwad |Catrin Owen

Hezbollah is refraining from military action during Iran’s conflict with Israel, as it faces domestic pressure not to drag a fragile Lebanon into war and wagers that the violence does not yet threaten the survival of its longstanding patron, according to diplomats and individuals close to the group.
Wineries urged to use water wisely as aquifers shrink

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Craig Ashworth |Lois Williams |Alisha Evans

A leading figure in wine sustainability says winegrowers and wineries need to use water more efficiently as climate change shrinks rivers and aquifers, which is already happening to Marlborough’s Wairau River. Marta Mendonca, head of viticulture sustainability organisation The Porto Protocol Foundation, spoke on the issue to winegrowers from around the world at Blenheim’s ASB Theatre on Tuesday, for the Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference.
Real estate agent’s killer creates ruckus

2 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Ajit Solanki |Rajesh Roy |Sally Rawsthorne

Christchurch real estate Yanfei Bao’s killer creates a ruckus as he awaits sentence for murder. The sentencing of murderer Tingjun Cao lasted 15 minutes in the Christchurch High Court before a break had to be taken due to the killer standing up in the dock, pointing, waving and yelling. As Justice Lisa Preston began outlining the timeline of the hearing she was interrupted several times by Cao leaping to his feet, waving and yelling in Mandarin.
‘Normalised what isn’t normal’: Cycling coach manipulated schoolgirl into relationship

2 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen |Mildred Armah |Alan Granville |Hamish McNeilly

A young woman abused by her cycling coach says she was also coached into denying the sexual offending that began when she was just 13 years old. The victim was “manipulated” into thinking the sexual relationship she had with Ross Gordon Castle, a man 33 years her senior, was normal. Castle was a “highly-regarded” figure in the cycling community, having coached dozens of children and advocated for several cycleways in the region, including on the new Te Ahu a Turanga — Manawatū-Tararua Highway.
Manslaughter charge dropped against woman accused of killing former rugby league player

3 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Catrin Owen

A woman accused of fatally stabbing a former rugby league player has had the charge of manslaughter dismissed. The woman, who cannot be named, was charged after Neville Craig Kiwi Ramsay, 60, died on December 1, 2023. Ramsay, who was also known as Rambo, had played for the New Zealand Māori rugby league team as well as Auckland and over in England. But court documents previously seen by Stuff show Ramsay had been charged with contravening a protection order against the woman in June 2023.