Supreme Court dismisses appeal over compensation payout to murder killer

Friday 4 September 2026 · 2 outlets · 2 reports · updated Fri 4 Sep, 2:29pm

In this story Court of Appeal, Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has unanimously rejected an attempt by the estate of Colleen Burrows to claim compensation from her killer, Sam Te Hei. Te Hei received a $17,664 payout from the Crown due to prison rights breaches following the 1987 murder of the 16-year-old.

How they headlined it

First reported by Stuff, Fri 4 Sep, 10:51am · 2 reports from 2 outlets over 4 hours

StuffFri 4 Sep, 10:51am

Family of murdered 16-year-old cannot recover compensation from her killer (opens in new tab)
NZ HeraldFri 4 Sep, 2:29pm

Murdered teen Colleen Burrows’ family’s long-running damages claim against her killer comes to an end (opens in new tab)