Board told reason for 2008 killing Judge unimpressed by ‘complete lack of respect for women’
THIRTEEN years after stabbing a teenager to death, a South Otago man has explained why he did it — and even he accepts the reasoning is bizarre.
Christopher Wayne Patterson (50) was jailed for life in 2008 for the murder of 18yearold Michael Hutchings, who was dumped in the Clutha River by Patterson, with the help of his partner Nichole Field.
Patterson appeared before the Parole Board for the first time last month, when he was denied early release.
At the hearing, before board chairman Ron Young, the prisoner spoke for the first time about why he killed Mr Hutchings.
The victim, Patterson said, had been involved in a car accident in which a young boy was hurt.
The father of the boy was apparently a gang member and Patterson said he became concerned Mr Hutchings would be killed in retribution.
Patterson said he encouraged the teenager to flee to Australia but it did not work out and he returned to live with the defendant and his partner at their home in Kaitangata.
Patterson told the board Field convinced him that either Mr Hutchings was to be killed for causing the injury to the boy or he would be killed instead.
It was a case of “him or me”, the killer claimed.
The alleged background, Sir Ron said, was “somewhat unusual” and in discussions with a psychologist, Patterson too, accepted the apparent strangeness of the circumstances as he presented them.
Mr Hutchings was murdered on the evening of January 7, 2008, after a stab wound in his right side pierced his abdomen and passed through his liver, causing fatal bleeding.
At sentencing the court heard there was a less serious wound to the victim’s neck and an injury to his hand which indicated a struggle had taken place.
The body was wrapped in a mattress protector, left in the house for almost 24 hours and then moved to the Clutha River, where it was weighted with two metal bars, each weighing 51kg, and rolled into the water.
Field, a former nurse aide, admitted a charge of being an accessory and was jailed for two years.
The couple were jointly charged with the rape of a young girl which was alleged to have happened at their Kaitangata home a couple of weeks before the murder, but the charges were later dropped.
There was some suggestion Mr
Hutchings had been a witness to the alleged incident but that was never established.
The Parole Board, at last month’s hearing, was told Patterson had recently begun a ninemonth rehabilitation course, after which he might be invited to undertake the Drug Treatment Programme.
As such, he remained an undue risk, Sir Ron said.
Members of the Hutchings family opposed his release and Patterson said “he could completely understand why”.
He will next appear before the board in August 2022.
A MAN who threatened to burn his partner’s house down with her in it has been given a second chance by the victim.
There was no such reprieve from the court, however.
Shane Andrew John Reeve (32) was jailed for a year — his first prison sentence — and Judge Michael Crosbie told the Dunedin District Court this week it was the latest in a string of offences against domestic partners.
“One of the things Mr Reeve exhibits is a complete lack of respect for women,” the judge said.
“His other convictions are remarkably similar and indicate that before Mr Reeve can have a relationship with any woman that he’s got a lot of work to do.”
During the hearing, Reeve admitted he was addicted to methamphetamine and cannabis and would seek help to combat that when he was released from prison.
He was at home with his partner on September 20.
The couple were in the process of splitting up, the court heard, and Reeve had been asked to move out of the address.
During an argument, the defendant grabbed the victim around the mouth to stop her talking.
He was charged with assault and released on bail but within days breached a clause barring him from contact with the woman.
On September 28, Reeve sent the victim a barrage of text messages which became progressively more threatening.
“I actually hate the fact that you are alive,” he wrote in one.
Later, the defendant claimed to be outside the home where the victim was living.
“Remember old houses burn well, a bit like witches,” Reeve sent.
“No way in hell I’m going to prison without taking you down before I do.”
Reeve and his partner met for a restorative justice conference, in which the woman said she was willing to give him another chance.
Also present at the meeting was the defendant’s mother, who had been supporting the victim.
“When men go to prison, their mothers invariably serve the sentence with them,” Judge Crosbie said.
“It's a hell of a thing to do to the person who brought you into the world.”
Counsel Sophia Thorburn said her client had attained some “mental and emotional clarity” while on remand and away from illicit substances.
He was very ashamed of what he had done, she said.