Edward Thomas Te Whiu (27 February 1935 – 18 August 1955) was a notable New Zealand criminal and murderer.
[1] Te Whiu was hanged at Mount Eden Prison in August 1955, after he had killed Florence Smith, a 75-year-old widow, in Ngararatunua, near Kamo, when an attempted burglary went wrong.
[1] At the time of the murders, Te Whiu had been on probation for cashing a forged check.
[2] Evidence was given that he had calmly cooked himself a meal in the next room to the corpse of his aged victim.
At his trial, Te Whiu's defense counsel argued that he'd panicked did not intend to kill Smith.