The Swedes' car was never switched; a bull bar sale explains why their licence plate was being removed.
No. Ryan Wolfe says the car police recovered was 100% Heidi and Urban's. Black paint differences he once noticed were the couple's own touch-ups before selling, and a damaged first 'U' in the Subaru door sticker in their holiday photos matches the recovered car shown in Brian Bruce's documentary.
Answered around 9:08Police statements show the couple touched up the car to sell it. A Guthrie Bowron salesman in Nelson said a Swedish couple bought Holtz matte black paint, plastic putty and off-white touch-up paint in February or March of 1989, about a month before the murders, and forensics matched paint found at the Sunkist Lodge.
Answered around 9:52Listener Nick, a lawyer who works on cars, noted that the front number plate was attached to the bull bar, which Wolfe confirmed in a news photo. So Donald was likely removing the plate to access or remove the bull bars in a sale, not to switch cars. Gary Spinks denied the 'insurance job' story.
Answered around 18:39In 2023 James said his father bought a set of bull bars off his brother, and that it came from Tamahiti. In 2024 he said his father mentioned 'Brother Dave', not Tamahere, and complained about paying $100. Wolfe says after 37 years the key point is that bull bars were discussed at all.
Answered around 23:38The couple's white 1976 Subaru station wagon had a large set of black bull bars that the model did not come with as standard. Wolfe says witnesses who saw the pair around the Coromandel consistently remembered two things: Heidi herself and the car's bull bars, which he believes were a catalyst for what unfolded.
Answered around 13:22Wolfe suggests David Tamahere met the couple, possibly hitchhiking, saw their car was for sale and said he knew someone with the same model who would buy the bull bars. They drove to Whangamata, parked beside the Turners' car, and Donald removed the plate as Darren Old arrived. He stresses it is only a theory.
Answered around 27:06Wolfe spoke to John Tamahere before Christmas 2024 about searching for the alleged skeleton, but by early June 2025 his emails and calls went unanswered. On June 14 he went public through Stuff News and TV3 News, arguing the first search was in the wrong place, yet no second search followed.
Answered around 3:33On August 12, Wolfe will speak at the Frankston RSL in Melbourne at a two-hour ticketed live event about what happened to 16-year-old Alana Cecil, the subject of season four of his podcast. He will share details never shared before, followed by a Q&A session.
Answered around 0:38