Robin Bain and Speaking Ill of the Dead

Bryan Bruce, the writer and director of the documentary THE CASE AGAINST ROBIN BAIN which screened as an INVESTIGATOR SPECIAL on TVNZ has posted a Youtube video tribute to the man whose reputation was attacked by his son's defence team during David Bain's second trial.

"I made it from photos and super 8 footage given to me by his brother Michael, and from interviews I had with friends and colleagues who knew Robin at the time of making my documentary," Bruce explained.

"What emerges from the archival footage and the interviews is the image of a kind and caring man – a very different picture of Robin to the one painted of him at his son's second trial."

Bruce, a multi award-winning documentary maker whose most recent work INSIDE CHILD POVERTY screened on TV3 to critical acclaim, has a reputation for in-depth journalism. In his INVESTIGATOR SPECIAL he found no case could be made against Robin Bain that would justify the accusation that he murdered his family.

"You just have to follow the blood trail" Bruce said. "Whoever fought with wounded 14 year-old Stephen Bain in his bedroom that cold Dunedin morning in 1994 and strangled him to death, would have got that young man's blood all over him. Robin did not have one drop of Stephen's blood on his clothing when he was found lying next to a blood smeared rifle that did not have his fingerprints on it."

"When Robin 's brother Michael first handed me a pile of mouldy VHS tapes back in 2010, I seriously doubted we would be able to recover any of the images from them. But we did. And what clearly emerges is not only the story of a man who loved his wife and family, but images of his children who are obviously well cared for, loved and happy."

“He was a man who with a dry sense of humour, a dedicated teacher and a person who often put the needs of others before his own " said Bruce

"As Joe Karam has seen fit to continue to further denigrate Robin in his recently released book TRIAL BY AMBUSH I felt it was important the public ought have the benefit of what I learned about Robin Bain in the course of my investigation - that he was a kind , gentle and much respected man" said Bruce.

Bruce hopes that lawmakers will consider making changes to the defamation laws to give immediate family members the ability to sue for defamation on behalf of their dead relatives.

"It is apparently OK in our country to speak ill of the dead. Currently you cannot sue someone who says vile things about your Mum or Dad, brother or sister after the have passed away. I think that's wrong" said Bruce.

"What happened at the Bain home in Every Street, on the 20th of June 1994 was terrible, but the on-going tragedy is that Robin , without a fair trial, continues to have his reputation dragged through the mud of public speculation. I think most Kiwi's in their heart know that's not right" said Bruce

You can view Bruce's tribute to Robin Bain via the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpMXYYX5l8M.