Parole board silent on James Henry Wilson

The NZ Parole Board is refusing to discuss whether a parole hearing was held in Wellington yesterday for notorious former Tauranga gang leader and convicted killer James Henry Wilson.

Wilson (pictured), known as "Little Willy", was president of the Filthy Few motorcycle gang when he murdered his former girlfriend Jo-Anne Maree Van Duyvenbooden in August 1999.

Wilson, a Papamoa tattooist who shot the 32-year-old beneficiary execution-style, was convicted of her murder after two jury trials. The first trial had a hung jury.

Ms Van Duyvenbooden was found dead in a stream bed near her rented Welcome Bay cottage, after she was shot in the head three times with a .22 firearm.

Wilson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 13 years in the High Court at Rotorua in 2000.

He was also sentenced to three-and-a-half years on a charge of wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice, after trying to get an unnamed person to take the rap for the murder.

Retired Detective Inspector Graham Bell and Tauranga Senior Sergeant Lew Warner, who both worked on the homicide inquiry, have described Wilson as one of the worst violent criminals they have dealt with during their lengthy careers in the force.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend that she could not confirm whether a hearing had taken place and, if one had occurred, it would not be appropriate to comment until the victim's family were informed.

Mr Warner confirmed he had written to the board in relation to Wilson's parole hearing.