New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Christopher Wayne PATTERSON

Hearing: 10 September 2024

at Waikeria Prison via MS Teams

Members of the Board:

Sir Ron Young – Chairperson

Dr G Coyle

Mr A Hackney

Counsel: Mr R Eagles

In Attendance:  [withheld] - Case Manager

Support Persons: [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Christopher Wayne Patterson, 54 years of age, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2008.  Prior to that, he had three pages of convictions, some violence, a sentence of two years’ imprisonment for assault with a firearm and commission of a crime with a firearm but, other than that, primarily breaches of Court orders and the abuse of alcohol while driving.
2. The Board last saw him in August 2023.  He generally had good compliance in prison, and he was about to complete the Drug Treatment Programme.  The Board supported reintegrative activities away from the proposed exclusion zones.  At that time, Mr Patterson was in prison in Christchurch, but Canterbury was one of the prohibited zones.  The proposal was that he be transferred to North Island prisons with the possibility of a release arrangement with [withheld].  We note that he had been working on Release to Work for a few weeks prior to that time.  He graduated from the STU:VO Programme in June 2021.
3. The difficulty that the Board has identified over time is that there is still no coherent or rational explanation for the murder.
4. As to the current position, Mr Patterson has been transferred to Waikeria Prison.  He is in Self-Care and is doing well.  He has had a number of Guided Releases.  He is approved for Work Outside the Wire now and is working outside the wire.  [withheld].
5. He remains misconduct-free with no difficulties. He has completed all of his rehabilitation and has now had reintegrative testing both in Christchurch Prisons and in Waikeria over a significant period of time.
6. He has been offered accommodation with [withheld] from 1 October and today he sought parole.
7. We spent some time talking to Mr Patterson again about the circumstances of the killing.  The reason for the repetitive enquiries by the Board is, as Mr Patterson accepts, because there is no real logical or coherent explanation for why he murdered this young boy. Our discussion today revealed nothing further beyond our previous observations.  We are left in the position where Mr Patterson’s abuse of drugs and alcohol was such that he imagined that it was either this young man who was going to be killed or Mr Patterson and so he killed the young man.  As we have said, there was no logic to that because if, indeed, it was the case that other people were looking for this young man to kill, and there was no real evidence of that, and they could not find him because Mr Patterson had killed him, then Mr Patterson himself would have become the target on his own description of the events.  As is illustrated, this was a very confused situation.
8. The relevance of our concern about the lack of clear identification as to why he murdered this young man is because his safety plan currently does not seem adequate to meet the need.  The high risks he identified are essentially a series of circumstances under which friends goad him into behaving in a way he does not want, badger him to drink, friends telling him how to beat the system and friends telling him to do things he does not want to do.
9. While those factors may well be relevant to his criminal offending overall, they do not entirely address the factors that at least Mr Patterson has identified as being relevant to the murder.  The factors that Mr Patterson mentioned were his anger.  At the time of the murder, he had been falsely accused of rape and he was angry at what he saw as an unfair accusation.  Secondly, he was under significant stress because he believed the young man who had come to live with him was under the threat of violence. Finally, his perception of the circumstances that lead to the murder was distorted. There was in fact little evidence to suggest the young man was at risk or that Mr Patterson was at risk from anybody. And so unsurprisingly his psychologist mentioned perception-taking as an important skill to work on.
10. It seems to us that the above three factors should be included in a redrafted safety plan; perception-taking, anger and stress.
11. We have decided today that we can release Mr Patterson on parole for the reasons we have identified, having completed his rehabilitation and reintegration. This release is on the basis that he and his Case Manager will work and complete an updated safety plan, a copy of which he must send to the Board. We will discuss the updated safety plan with him when we seem him on a monitoring hearing in January 2025.
12. He will be released on 7 October 2024.  The special conditions set out in the Parole Assessment Report are imposed except we delete the tenancy provision which is not relevant and inappropriate.  By 7 October, he will have had ample opportunity to redraft the safety plan covering the matters we have mentioned.
13. We will see him again in a monitoring hearing in January 2025.  In the meantime, all of the conditions will be for life, but we will reassess their timeliness when we see him in January.
14. The Special Conditions are:

(1) Not to enter the Canterbury, Otago, and Southland regions as defined by a probation officer in writing unless you have the prior written approval of a probation officer.

(2) To submit to electronic monitoring as directed by a probation officer in order to monitor your compliance with any conditions relating to your whereabouts.

(3) Not to possess, use, or consume alcohol, controlled drugs or psychoactive substances except controlled drugs prescribed for you by a health professional.

(4) To attend an alcohol and drug assessment, and attend, participate in and complete any treatment or counselling directed by a probation officer.

(5) To attend a psychological assessment and attend, participate in and complete any recommended treatment as directed by a probation officer.

(6) To attend an assessment for a departmental programme/maintenance group, and attend, participate in and adhere to the rules of the programme/maintenance group as directed by a probation officer.

(7) Not to have contact or otherwise associate with any victim of your offending, including previous offending, directly or indirectly, unless you have the prior written approval of a probation officer.

(8) To disclose to a probation officer, at the earliest opportunity, details of any intimate relationship which commences, resumes, or terminates.

(9) Not to communicate or associate with your co-offender, [withheld], directly or indirectly, unless you have the prior written approval of a probation officer.

(10) To obtain the written approval of a probation officer before starting or changing your position and/or place of employment (including voluntary and unpaid work). To notify a probation officer if you leave your position of employment.

(11) In January 2025, to comply with any direction made under section 29B(2)(b) of the Parole Act 2002 to attend a hearing at a time and place to be notified to you.

(12) To attend a reintegration meeting as directed by a probation officer.

(13) To comply with the requirements of partial residential restrictions. You must be at [withheld], Hamilton between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am daily unless:

- To seek urgent medical or dental treatment;

- To avoid or minimise a serious risk of death or injury to you or any other person;

- For humanitarian reasons approved by a probation officer; or

- You have the prior written approval of a probation officer.

(14) Upon expiry of the residential restrictions condition, you must reside at an address approved in writing by a probation officer.

(15) Upon release from prison, to travel directly to [withheld], Hamilton and await the arrival of a probation officer and a representative from the monitoring company.

(16) To submit to electronic monitoring as directed by a probation officer, in order to monitor your compliance with any conditions relating to your residential restrictions.

(17) To comply with the requirements of electronic monitoring and provide access to the specified residence to the probation officer and representatives of the monitoring company, for the purpose of maintaining the electronic monitoring equipment as directed by the probation officer.

“Please note: you may be required to undergo a drug or alcohol test and or submit to drug or alcohol monitoring.”