Ben Smart

Olivia Hope arrived at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds on the afternoon of December 31, 1997. The 17-year-old Blenheim student had just finished college, and was working at a winery over the holidays before heading to university in Dunedin. Along with her older sister, Amelia, and a group of friends, she’d chartered a yacht, Tamarack, for a few days, with the New Year’s party at Furneaux being the highlight. Ben Smart was staying across Endeavour Inlet at a bach in Punga Cove. He was 21 and had been living in Christchurch, but knew Olivia socially. He’d driven to Punga Cove in his Mini and had been partying with mates before catching a boat across to Furneaux Lodge for the renowned celebrations.

Ben Smart (aged 21 years) and Olivia Hope (aged 17 years), attended a New Year's Eve celebration at Furneaux Lodge, Endeavour Inlet, Marlborough Sounds on the evening of 31 December 1997. They were last seen boarding a yacht in Endeavour Inlet in the early hours of 1 January 1998 in the company of a lone male. Neither their bodies nor any trace of their belongings have ever been found. Picton resident Scott Watson was found guilty of the pair’s murder in 1999. In November 2016 Olivia's father, Gerald Hope, met with convicted murderer Watson in prison. Gerald then released a statement saying that after six hours of talking with Watson he couldn't be convinced he was innocent.

Further information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Ben_Smart_and_Olivia_Hope
• http://www.crime.co.nz/c-files.aspx?ID=198