Baxter’s murderer loses bid for parole
Parole has been declined for Dartelle Alder, who murdered Wellington woman Margaret Lynne Baxter in 2001.
Alder, now 40, was 23 when he ran Baxter down with his car as she was jogging in Hawke’s Bay.
He then dumped her in his car and drove to a house, where he raped her before stabbing her more than 30 times.
Alder then killed Baxter by smashing a terracotta tile on her head.
At his sentencing, Justice Warwick Gendall said it was hard to imagine a more cruel, vicious and brutal crime.
Alder, who had no previous convictions, was sentenced to life with a 15-year non-parole term for the murder, which was increased by the Court of Appeal to 17 years non-parole – one of the longest terms in New Zealand’s history.
In 2007, Alder was found not guilty of murdering Sonny John Keremete, 25, a fellow inmate at Hawke’s Bay Prison in March the previous year.
Alder, who has been at Whanganui Prison since 2008, was seen by the Parole Board last week.
He was described as a compliant and hard-working prisoner, and has attained a number of NZQA credits in various fields.
The board assessed him as having moderate to low risk of further violent or sexual offending, ‘‘however, if he reoffends, the consequences to potential victims are likely to be catastrophic and result in death’’.
Alder told the board he initially did not remember much about his offending. He said he had flashbacks but blocked them out.
He was now able to recall most of what occurred but said his memories were somewhat disjointed.
The board said there was no question of parole. His next hearing is in January 2020 at the latest.