Widow glad ‘sicko’ to stay put
Parole Board denies Macdonald his freedom and says he still has disregard for others.
‘Ultimately the narcissistic and evil traits of Ewen Macdonald have been recognised as a risk to the public . . .’
THE widow of slain Feilding farmer Scott Guy is glad the ‘‘sicko’’ acquitted of his murder has again been declined an early release from prison.
Kylee Guy and her family said they were happy Ewen Macdonald was staying ‘‘where he belongs’’, after his third appearance before the Parole Board yesterday ended in him being told he will serve another year behind bars.
Macdonald, 34, has been in custody since 2010 after being charged with murdering Guy, his brother-in-law.
Guy died after he was shot twice with a shotgun outside his Feilding home.
Macdonald was acquitted of the murder after a High Court jury trial in 2012, but was sent to prison for five years for various other offences.
Among those crimes, which he committed with Callum Boe, was the poaching of two trophy stags from Manawatu farmer Craig Hocken, who said he was surprised Macdonald was not freed. ‘‘I thought they’d let him out this time ... obviously there’s still some work to do.’’ He said he was no longer angry at Macdonald for the poaching.
However, in a statement after the hearing, Kylee Guy and her family said they supported the board’s decision.
‘‘Ewen Macdonald is a sicko and he is where he belongs,’’ the statement said.
‘‘This is a relief for Christchurch and wider New Zealand community who don’t need to look over their shoulders for another year. Ultimately the narcissistic and evil traits of Ewen Macdonald have been recognised as a risk to the public, and professional assessments of Ewen whilst in jail have confirmed our concerns.’’
The family said they were still confident whoever killed Scott Guy would be caught. They had been working with private investigators since Macdonald was acquitted in 2012.
‘‘The investigation is progressing very well,’’ a family spokeswoman said.
‘‘We are confident the person who killed Scott will be brought to justice.’’
Forensic psychiatric reports prepared for previous parole hearings described Macdonald as being at significant risk of reoffending in situations involving injustice, envy and revenge.
Those matters were brought up again at his hearing inside Christchurch’s Rolleston Prison yesterday. An updated report said he still had self-entitlement issues, as well as a disregard for others.
Macdonald, accompanied by prison officers, his parents and another family member during the hearing, said the relationship between him and Scott Guy contributed to some of the crimes.
‘‘[The offending] stemmed from the working relationship on the farm.’’
It was said during the murder trial that Macdonald and Guy had an ongoing rivalry, which started after Guy returned from Australia’s Outback in 2008. Guy said he wanted to inherit the family farm, effectively coming in over the top of Macdonald’s authority on the farm.
Macdonald told the board the way he managed his feelings contributed to his offending.
The Guy family
‘‘If I try suppress my emotions, my personality leads me to make the wrong decisions. Instead of getting that sick feeling in your tummy while doing the wrong thing, I would suppress that – put it to the side – and let those strong traits take over.’’
Despite having worked on expressing those feelings properly, Macdonald admitted the board may not be able to trust him. That was because his crimes involved deceiving his family, friends, workmates and neighbours.
‘‘You can’t be 100 per cent sure, can you? I have given you my word, but that probably means nothing.’’
A Corrections officer at the parole hearing was supportive of Macdonald being freed.
While withdrawn when he first arrived at the prison 18 months ago, Macdonald had become an open, honest person while inside, the officer said. He had rebounded well from being declined access to the release to work scheme, which he had been on for three weeks, and any issues could be addressed away from prison.
But the board decided he needed more time behind bars to address his issues.
His sentence is due to expire on April 6, 2016. That means Macdonald will get at least one more appearance before the board, as inmates eligible for parole must be seen at least once a year.