Lynne Martin Faces Trial in Shocking Arson Murder Case: Secret Devices Capture Her Watching Cold Case Unfold on TV

21 Nov

Lynne Martin as she stand trial for the murder of her father in 2013

Lynne Martin is accused of igniting the fatal fire that claimed the life of her 88-year-old father, Ronald Russell Allison, at his remote farm home 30km north-west of Gisborne, New Zealand, in the early hours of January 25, 2013.

Who was Ronald Russell Allison?

Ronald Russell Allison, known by his friends as Russell, was an elderly gentlemen living in Karaka, New Zealand. He had lived there on his family farm since 1945 and was enjoying a quiet retirement.

Russell was a veteran of World War II, a devoted husband to wife Marie, who died seven years before he did, a loving dad and granddad and a widely respected farmer.

He was fiercely independent and insisted on living alone but he was assisted in getting into bed each night by his son, John, who lived a short distance away.

The Death of Russell Allison

Russell Allison’s home on the family farm in Te Karaka

The tragic events leading to the death of 88-year-old Ronald Russell Allison, known as Russell, unfolded in the remote farm home situated 30km north-west of Gisborne during the early hours of January 25, 2013. Lynne Martin, Russell's daughter, stood accused in the Crown's case of deliberately starting the fire that claimed her father's life.

The prosecution argued that the house burned to the ground, and Russell's remains were discovered on his bed. Martin's lawyer, Rachael Adams, contended that the case was centered on doubt, emphasizing the lack of direct and definitive evidence regarding the cause of the fire and the individuals involved.

Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker presented a narrative suggesting that Russell’s daughter, Lynne Martin, residing in Tauranga at the time, was facing financial troubles and desired the inheritance she would receive upon her father's demise. Upset by the terms of Russell's will, which allocated $150,000 to her, Martin made a call to Russell on January 24, triggering a sequence of events leading to the alleged murder.

Russell informed his friend John that Martin intended to visit, seeking his boat and other items, while also expressing concerns about her threatening behavior. According to Walker, this phone call served as the catalyst for Martin's actions.

On the same day, Martin left work early, claiming illness, and purchased alcohol before texting her partner about a trip to Auckland. However, CCTV and phone records revealed that she drove to Opotiki instead. Walker asserted that Martin, intoxicated and angry, surveilled her father's house from a distance, waited for her brother to leave, entered the house, and set it ablaze with the intention of leaving Russell inside.

Motorists reported the fully engulfed house around 2 am on January 25. When the Te Karaka fire brigade arrived, the house had already been reduced to ashes, and Russell's remains were discovered on the remains of a mattress.

The Crown’s Evidence against Lynne Martin

The Crown presented compelling evidence against Lynne Martin during the trial. One key aspect involved Martin's interactions with an undercover police officer, referred to as "Millie," who befriended her in 2019/2020. Millie, wearing a recording device, engaged Martin in conversation about a fictional dispute with her former partner, supposedly in possession of an incriminating diary. Martin suggested that Millie should "torch the house" to destroy the diary and secure an insurance payout, emphasizing that arson is difficult to prove.

The crown's recreation of Lynne's claimed method of starting the fire.

Martin provided detailed advice on executing a delayed ignition fire without getting caught, advising Millie on avoiding phone tracking, CCTV cameras, using a false name for a hire vehicle, and creating a false alibi for being in Auckland. She specifically recommended starting the fire by placing a pot of oil on a stove, turning it on high, and waiting for it to explode, ensuring it appeared as though no one had entered the house. The Crown presented evidence of a test run involving a small pot of Chefade lard on a camping stove, replicating Martin's described method.

Furthermore, the prosecution highlighted Martin's past arson-related offenses in Australia in 1999, where she set fire to two motor vehicles during a dispute with her partner at the time. The Crown argued that this history demonstrated a propensity for resorting to arson when fueled by anger and alcohol in response to relational problems and financial difficulties.

In connection with the arson-murder of her father, Ronald Russell Allison, the timeline presented by the Crown depicted Martin as intoxicated and angry on the night of the incident. Allegedly, she surveilled her father's house from a distance, waited for her brother to leave, entered the house, placed oil or fat in a pot on the stove, and left. Motorists discovered the fully engulfed house around 2 am on January 25, and by the time the fire brigade arrived, the house had been destroyed, and Russell's remains were found on the remains of a mattress.

Martin's subsequent attempts to establish an alibi, false claims about her whereabouts, and the threatening message to her father regarding allegations of sexual abuse were presented as additional pieces of evidence contributing to the Crown's case. The prosecution argued that these elements collectively pointed towards Martin's intention to murder her father and gain financial benefits from his death.

Police Record Lynne Martin Watching a Cold Case TV Show about her Father’s Death

New Zealand Mysteries covers the case of Russell Allison’s death by arson.

On the eleventh day of the trial, presided over by Justice Helen Cull in the High Court at Gisborne, the jury listened to recordings obtained from covert devices placed by the police in the bedroom and lounge of Lynne Martin's Matamata home from July to December 2020. During this period, the authorities also wiretapped the couple's landline and Martin's cellphone, accumulating a total of over 22,000 recorded conversations from these surveillance methods. These recordings supplemented the conversations captured by an undercover police officer, who spent 157 days gathering evidence of Martin's involvement in the fire that led to Ronald Russell Allison's death.

The Cold Case episode covering Allison's death aired on the evening of November 3, 2020, and included a mention of a 22-minute telephone call Martin made to Allison at 11:25 am on January 24, 2013, the day before his death. The call reportedly caused great distress to Allison. During and after the show, Martin discussed the matters raised with her husband, Graeme. Martin informed her husband that she had called her father to inquire about his well-being, emphasizing that there was no malice in the conversation, and he was in good spirits.

When Graeme asked if she had confronted her father, Martin replied, "Oh, I was always having a go at him, but I can’t say that." She expressed skepticism about the police's conclusions, stating they had "made their minds up," and criticized her brother John for allegedly lying and providing misconceptions. Martin also contested the police's assertion that her cellphone was near her father's house at the time of his death, arguing that it didn't prove her presence there.

After watching the TV show, Martin told Graeme that although they could place her in the vicinity, it did not prove she went to Allison's house or set it on fire. In another recorded conversation on the night of August 2, 2020, Martin informed Graeme that she had expressed to a detective investigating the case her wish for her brother to be the one who died. She was quoted saying, "Like I said to Smithy (the detective), ‘The wrong guy died. It should have been my brother. I’d love to see him be a crispy critter. No wonder I got myself in the shit.'"

The trial against Lynne Martin for the murder of her father is currently ongoing.