What ever happened to... murdered Kahui twins parents Chris and Macsyna?

To mark the Herald on Sunday's 15th anniversary, we have gone back to some of our biggest newsmakers to find out where they are now.

The mother of murdered twins Chris and Cru Kahui has found a new life, married to a bishop and running a fish and chip shop.

The deaths of Macsyna King's 84-day-old sons in 2006 shocked a nation. And their parents' refusal to talk to police afterwards angered many.

They suffered traumatic brain injuries, the result of severe impact forces to their tiny heads.

They died later that week after all efforts to save them were exhausted.

Police and a Coroner agree that someone picked the babies up and either threw them against a hard surface or shook them violently.

Macsyna King broke down while giving evidence at the inquest into the deaths of her baby sons Chris and Cru Kahui.

Their father Chris was charged with murder but was acquitted after a high profile trial.

The Crown maintains Kahui, and no one else killed the babies.

Chris Kahui was charged with murdering his twin sons Chris and Cru (inset). Photo / NZ Herald

READ MORE
• The tragic twin boys forever in our minds
• Macsyna's world
• The Kahui twins: Murder - and the cover-up
• Chris Kahui a father again

Coroner Garry Evans later ruled Kahui was the only one that could have hurt the boys because they were in his sole care when they were injured.

Kahui's lawyers have pointed the finger at the boys' mother Macsyna or her brother Stuart
King who lived with the couple.

He still maintains his innocence and has never been convicted of any charges relating to the boys' injuries or death.

Kahui went on to marry Marcia Ngapera, the daughter of pastors at a church the once-accused killer attended.

The couple have at least one child together and are grandparents to a child born to
Ngapera's daughter from a previous relationship.

A source said the grandchild was born 10 years to the day that Chris and Cru died.

Kahui does not speak to media, referring all requests to his lawyer Lorraine Smith, who represented him at trial.

Macsyna King and Chris Kahui at the funeral for their twins who were murdered in 2006. Kahui was charged, then acquitted. Photo / NZ Herald

When contacted about this story Smith responded that her instructions from her client had not changed.

"I cannot assist you with this request," she said.

Kahui's former partner and the mother of the twins has also forged a new life and family for herself.

King was never charged in relation to the deaths of Chris and Cru.

The grave of Chris Arepa Kahui and Cru Omeka Kahui at the Mangere Lawn Cemetery. Photo / Michael Craig

She is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, married to a bishop and living in Gisborne.

The couple own a takeaway shop, which featured on a Mormon website recently.

Macsyna King, the Kahui twins' mother, in her Gisborne fish and chip shop. Photo / supplied

They run it with King's three older children. She embarked on the venture after she lost her job as a chef at a restaurant and her husband had to give up his job as a tradesman due to health problems.

'I poured my heart to God," King told the publication of her old job ending.

Macsyna King is now married and runs a fast food restaurant. Photo / supplied

"I told him I was sick of working hard for others and getting let down. I was spending 70-80 hours at work and hardly seeing my family. I was ready to start my own business. I asked him, can you help shape the way?

'A week later, an acquaintance from a different faith, called me. I had only met her once but she called me because my name kept popping up in her head.

"She told me, 'for some reason I felt you were the one I needed to ask to buy our fish and chip shop'."

"I told her we didn't have the money to buy her business but she told me she would allow me to take over the business and pay her overtime. I cried."

King and her husband have been LDS members for more than five years after following her brother into the religion.

"One day my husband I were like, okay we tried life our way and heaps of other ways and it didn't work. So we thought, maybe we should give it a go. We spoke to our son... and told him we are going to change our lives."

"I had addictions, failed relationships… both my husband and I had tough upbringings. But we can now see the clear contrast between our life before and our life now. We now have light and goodness."

King now uses her husband's last name and goes by a variation of her first name.

To protect the children living with her, the Herald has chosen not to publish King's married name or her husband's name.

In 2011 King release a book with journalist Ian Wishart about her babies.

Breaking Silence: The Kahui Case was touted as being the "real story" of Chris and Cru's murder.

In the book, King blames her ex-partner for the deaths of the infants.

Wishart provided never-before-heard audio of interviews with King about the moments her boys died to the Herald on Sunday for the 10th anniversary of their deaths.