Kate Alkema’s killer paroled among unaware residents
Department of Corrections tells Virginia Fallon that Nika Abraham, who served 20 years, is being monitored ‘‘extremely closely’’.
The Department of Corrections has moved a recently paroled murderer from a halfway house, days after nearby residents said they should have been warned he was there.
There is increased scrutiny on whether neighbours or communities have the right to be notified about ex-offenders, after the death of Juliana Herrera in January. The 37-year-old was murdered by her neighbour Joseph Brider, 10 weeks after he was released from prison for raping a woman in 2014.
This week, Rotorua residents discovered Nika Arthur Abraham had been paroled to a property near their homes. The 41-year-old was paroled on July 27 after serving nearly 20 years for murdering Kate Alkema on the banks of the Hutt River in 2002.
The Parole Board decision calls him a trouble-free leader who has undertaken years of rehabilitation. He has strong family support and had been on work release, gaining ‘‘very good feedback’’ from his employer.
But residents close to the property say they should still have been notified.
‘‘He has a right to rehabilitate, but I have a right to be told about him and to feel safe in my home,’’ said one woman, who Sunday News has agreed not to name, said. Residents of other nearby houses echoed her concerns.
Abraham was 20 when he saw Alkema walking beside the river on a Saturday morning. He followed the 36-year-old, then strangled her from behind with a strap from a carry bag. Her disordered clothing suggested a sexual motive, police said, but Abraham denied it.
He later told police he was inspired by the Friday the 13th horror movies, and wanted to hear a woman scream. After initially admitting the murder, he recanted and wrote fake letters to himself in prison, claiming they were from the ‘‘real killer’’.
Abraham became eligible for parole in 2015, but was denied both that and subsequent requests
for release. In 2020 it emerged he had followed two other women before he killed Alkema, on one of those occasions carrying a knife.
The board said Abraham’s background led to an anger towards women – although Abraham told them he had dealt with his ‘‘problem with women’’.
The decision to parole says he’d completed rehabilitation programmes ‘‘extremely well’’; had a strong work ethic and had taken leadership roles in prison. He had also had five guided releases and strong support from his family. Special parole conditions included three months of electronic monitoring, not to consume alcohol or drugs, and not to enter the Auckland, Wellington, Upper Hutt or Masterton regions without approval from a probation officer.
‘‘We are satisfied now that he is no longer an undue risk and can be released.’’
However, residents say they feel let down by Corrections and by the Wera Aotearoa Charitable Trust (WACT) that runs the residential property. They thought the house catered for lower level and non-violent offenders and say they should have been warned. ‘‘This isn’t someone who robbed a bank, he stalked two women and murdered another’’, said a man the Sunday News agreed not to identify.
Corrections declined an interview but, in a written statement, chief probation officer Darius Fagan said about 15,000 people are released from prison a year and public safety is the top priority.
The decision to move Abraham was not over concerns for risk to public safety, he said. Abraham is being monitored by experienced staff and hasn’t breached any of his parole conditions.
The department is in the process of confirming who will run an independent review of its notification policy, Fagan said.
WACT chief executive Israel Hawkins says the trust is contracted by Corrections to provide reintegration services for ex-prisoners. ‘‘Our job is to try and provide the support and safety for them and their neighbours . . . The consultation with neighbours is always done.’’
Hawkins says confidentiality laws sometimes prevent sharing information with people who live nearby: ‘‘We also need to make sure they are OK. I don’t want to have a reintegration house in isolation of those who live around that house.’’
Dr Paul Wood says the issue is a classic example of a broken system in which there are no winners: ‘‘Like the neighbours, I would feel apprehensive, but . . . we’re making it harder for effective reintegration of a person who comes out of prison.’’
Wood served more than 10 years of a life sentence for a murder he committed as an 18-year-old and was granted parole in 2006, part-way through his PhD.
Now an author and public speaker, he points to the Scandinavian system where the probation service teams up with community volunteers to support and mentor offenders back into society.
Ultimately, there must be redemption for people who have served their time: ‘‘There has to be a path back, if there isn’t then the only option is to continue with the behaviours that led to prison in the first place.’’