"Victims are being ignored and not heard, this case is not a one off, and the government need to realise that softer sentencing and releasing people like this will have a horrific result."
New Zealanders are horrified as the identity of the man who committed the brutal rape and murder of Christchurch woman Nicole Tuxford has been revealed as Paul Tainui previously known as Paul Wilson killer of Kim Schroder.

Along with the lifting of name suppression came the startling revelation that Wilson had murdered before in horrifyingly similar circumstances 24 years ago. Wilson’s then victim was his ex-girlfriend Kimberly Schroder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and murdering her and a minimum non-parole period of 15 years was imposed, which was then reduced to 13 years minimum non-parole when he appealed.

In 2011 the Parole Board deemed Wilson was no longer a risk to the community, releasing him on parole, setting in motion the tragic train of events that led to Nicole Tuxford losing her life.

Sensible Sentencing Trust’s Youth Advocate Jess McVicar says he should have never have been released.

" The parole board ignored the pleas made by Kim Schroders family, The Schroder family worked tirelessly to try and keep Wilson in prison, knowing to well if he was released he would kill again, and because of the actions of the parole board, which they have labelled as a "Mistake", two people died in this horrific crime"

Kimberly Schroders father took his own life upon hearing of Nicole Tuxfords murder knowing to well it was Paul Wilson,
"He felt responsible for Nicoles death." says Jess

The parole board has ordered an independent review of its involvement in the case but Jess says too little too late. " They should have listened to the Victims when they pleaded for Wilson to not be released, but once again the victims voice was ignored."

Wilson will be sentenced on March 28th.

Jess says The Sensible Sentencing Trust sincerely hopes the Judge presiding over the sentencing of Paul Wilson does not give in to government pressure and imposes a sentence of life with no parole.
"A true life sentence! The safety of the community must be the paramount consideration! We have a Justice System that has let the community and Victims down in this case with numerous failures"

"You have to ask the question given the governments soft approach to sentencing, will the same mistake be made again, or will they finally realise that offenders like Wilson should serve a sentence of life with no parole and never be released"

“The pressure the Government are putting on the courts to reduce sentences or find alternatives to imposing prison sentences in the effort to lower the prison muster, is becoming more and more obvious, as the sentences are getting more and more lenient, with home detention being an all-time favourite.” says Jess

Jess says there were too many wrong doings within the justice system in this case that they can not be ignored.

Paul Tainui was stopped for a breath test the night before he murdered Nicole. He tested over the legal limit, had two knives in the boot of his car and once processed by Police, was released. He then caught a taxi to Nicole’s place, where he waited for her to come home and then carried out his brutal attack.

Jess says a convicted violent offender should never be allowed to change their name.

“Offenders like Wilson who are convicted of a serious violent crime, should not be eligible to apply for a name change, and the Police should have had access to his previous criminal history."

Jess says the Sensible Sentencing Trust are calling for a review on the communications (or lack of) between the New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections and the Parole Board, to try and put a stop to this type of tragedy happening again.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust are also calling on the government to start listening to Victims voices.

" We have been talking about these types of failures in the system for years, Victims are being ignored and not heard, this case is not a one off, and the government need to realise that softer sentencing and releasing people like this will have a horrific result."

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