A detective carries evidence from the Johnsonville house of Wathanak Tea after her murder in 2001. Malcolm Francis, a Porirua welfare beneficiary, had a history of domestic violence towards female partners before the disappearance of Wathanak Tea, his 37-year-old former partner, in late 2001. Her body was never discovered, but blood splattered around her Johnsonville home led to his arrest and conviction for manslaughter. Francis had earlier been convicted of the manslaughter of his second wife, Janet, in 1983, and had stabbed his first wife in the neck with a pair of scissors in 1975. He was given one of New Zealand's longest sentences for manslaughter – 12 years with a minimum non-parole period of eight years.