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Offender Databases Fiona Emslie

Fiona Mary Emslie

Alias

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Offences

Murder of Debbie Paul Lowry by stabbing her 13 times at the United Services Hotel in Christchurch on March 26, 1985
Convicted in separate incidents after her release for slashing a person's face with a knife and brandishing a crossbow outside a Christchurch nightclub in 2002
Also drink driving charges

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

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Gang affiliations

Black Power

Age

Born 1962

Current Location

At large in Christchurch

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to "life" in late 1985
Has breached her parole conditions repeatedly since her release

Background
The Press, Friday, 03 October 2008
The mother of missing Christchurch woman Tisha Lowry lost her sister in a brutal gang-related stabbing 23 years ago. Tanya Lowry's sister, Debbie Paul, was stabbed 13 times at the United Services Hotel in Christchurch on March 26, 1985. Fiona Emslie was convicted of her killing in 1985, and was given a life sentence.

Last week, Tanya Lowry's daughter, Tisha, 28, went missing after leaving a Christchurch bottlestore in Wainoni. Six years ago, Tanya Lowry told The Press of her horror at the failure to recall her sister's killer for reoffending while on life parole. Since her life term, Emslie had been convicted in separate incidents where she slashed a person's face with a knife and brandished a crossbow outside a Christchurch nightclub.

"She's a habitual offender that's obvious. The system has let our family down," Lowry said at the time. The 1985 killing of Paul was believed to have been over a gang disagreement. Emslie walked in to the United Services Hotel carrying a knife a day after a fight between two groups, the court was told. Emslie was president of the Black Power women's group and her brother, Michael Emslie, was the gang's sergeant-at-arms.

Michael Emslie was found guilty of the manslaughter of Paul, as he had encouraged the attack, shouting "do it, do it", the court heard. Police yesterday confirmed they were aware of the 1985 murder. "I probably can't say too much about that, but I am aware of that," Detective Senior Sergeant Virginia le Bas said. "There's nothing that's taking us in any one particular direction at the moment," she said of the investigation into Tisha Lowry's disappearance. A family spokesman, who wanted to be known only as Bernie, last night said the family did not want to talk about the 1985 murder.

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Corrections and Additional Information
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