John Finnegan

In September 1865 neighbours noticed that Ōtāhuhu woman Mary Finnegan and her three sons were missing. Finnegan’s son-in-law James Stack, who lived in the family home, said they had all gone to the West Coast goldfields. After Stack abruptly left Ōtāhuhu in December, the property was searched and the bodies of Mary, 17-year-old James and 14-year-old Benjamin were found buried in the garden. Stack was captured, tried and convicted of murdering the four Finnegans. He was hanged in 1866. The body of 10-year-old John was found in 1869. Source: https://teara.govt.nz/en/violent-crime/page-5 [last name corrected to Finnegan]