Congratulation to New Zealand Police & Berla Corporation for Operation Violin - an international partnership that solved a murder.

Operation VIOLIN represents an outstanding example of how specialist forensic support services can fundamentally change the outcome of a major criminal investigation.

This nomination recognises the partnership between the New Zealand Police (Waitematā CIB Operation VIOLIN homicide investigation team) and Berla Corporation, an internationally recognised leader in vehicle forensic technology based in the USA. Together they combined traditional homicide investigation techniques, advanced telecommunications analysis, forensic geolocation, geo-forensic search methodology and cutting-edge vehicle telemetry forensics to solve the murder of 19-year-old Jayden Mamfredos (pictured) and recover his body after nine months of searching.

The collaboration directly contributed to:

• The identification and reconstruction of offender movements.
• The location of the murder scene.
• The recovery of Jayden Mamfredos' body.
• The successful prosecution and conviction of three offenders for murder (November 2025).
• A lasting enhancement of New Zealand Police vehicle-forensics capability

This partnership perfectly embodies the IAATI Forensic and Supporting Services Award by demonstrating how specialist forensic services can play a decisive role in detecting serious offending and supporting successful prosecution outcomes.