Wickliffe paroled; no longer ‘undue risk’

WELLINGTON: One of New Zealand’s most highprofile criminals will be freed on parole next month.

Dean Hugh Te Kahu William Wickliffe (69) has numerous convictions in his criminal history, including manslaughter, robbery, burglary, theft and drug offending.

He was first jailed in 1972 for killing Wellington jeweller Paul Miet during a robbery.

He was originally charged with murder, but the charge was downgraded to manslaughter.

Wickliffe received a sentence of life imprisonment for the offending.

He has offended 33 times since then. The Parole Board most recently recalled him to jail in March 2018 for drunkdriving and breaching special conditions.

He was earlier recalled to prison four times, dating as far back as 2008.

In a decision released this week, the Parole Board said Wickliffe — who is described as polite and pleasant by Corrections staff — had shown he was ‘‘no longer an undue risk’’ to the community.

The Parole Board last saw Wickliffe in December, where they declined his bid for parole and requested more information on his plans to be released to live in Maketu.

‘‘We wanted to know his daytoday activities, his drug and alcohol support, we wanted to investigate appropriate residential restrictions and see that he had someone who would be keeping an eye on him,’’ yesterday’s decision said. Wickliffe has ‘‘good feedback’’ from the prison, has been working outside the wire as a groundsman, and has identified ‘‘significant support’’ structures for when he is released.

Support workers plan to see Wickliffe every day for the next three months.

‘‘Overall we think the support for him is exactly what we had hoped and intended when we made the observations in December 2019,’’ the board said.

They agreed to release him on June 2, with a threemonth curfew period.

Special conditions which will last for another five years include that Wickliffe must attend a psychological assessment, as well as drug and alcohol, that he must obey the curfew of 10pm to 5am.