Anguish as tough love goes tragically wrong

Family and friends of Liam Ashley gathered yesterday to mourn the loss of the 17-year-old, who was killed while in custody. Picture / Michael Craig

A remand prisoner in custody for allegedly assaulting police with a crowbar is likely to be charged over the death of Liam Ashley after claims he used handcuffs to strangle the teenager in the back of a prison van.

Revelations emerged yesterday about the death of the 17-year-old, with his parents, Ian and Lorraine Ashley, confirming it was their decision to press criminal charges against their son after he took their vehicle without permission.

Liam had been offered bail on the theft charge, but his parents decided he should spend some time behind bars and experience "the serious effects of breaking the law".

"We were just trying to save him," a distraught Ian Ashley told the Herald on Sunday yesterday.

That decision was to have fatal consequences after Liam suffered extensive brain damage from the beating he took en route from the North Shore District Court to the Mt Eden Remand Centre.

He died in Auckland Hospital at 10.45am on Friday after his parents decided to turn off his life support.

Yesterday the family issued a statement demanding answers to 10 questions about Liam's death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cramer would not discuss the events, saying only that a manslaughter or murder charge was likely within the next few days.

But a well-placed source told the Herald on Sunday a man in his 20s, on remand for allegedly using a crowbar to assault police, was likely to be charged over the death. It is understood he used his handcuffs to strangle Liam, an attack witnessed by 12 other remand prisoners who were in the prison van at the time. No security guards were in the rear of the vehicle when the assault took place.

Despite Liam's death, the Department of Corrections said it would not change any of its procedures for transporting prisoners until the result of three official inquiries - Corrections, Police and Coroner's - were known.

It would also not say whether Chubb Security, the company contracted over the past five years to escort prisoners, would be facing disciplinary action over Liam's death.

Yesterday, the department could give little insight into why a 17-year-old facing a relatively minor charge was in a locked compartment in the rear of a prison van with two other inmates, one of whom was facing a serious assault charge.

It also could not say whether the two guards in the prison van heard Liam being strangled, and if they did, why they didn't stop the vehicle.

"That's one of the key questions to be answered. I want to know the answer to that as well," said Harry Hawthorn, the general manager of Public Prisons.

Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor yesterday said he was shocked by what had happened and would be seeking assurances this would never happen again. But, like Corrections, he said it would be wrong to change protocols until the three inquiries were completed.

"I have to know whether it was a systemic problem or a mistake by an individual before we embark upon a process of stopping this from occurring again," said O'Connor.

While tragic for the parents, it was wrong to prejudge why a 17-year-old was in the same prison van as other offenders, he said.

In a prepared statement, Liam's parents said they were devastated by their son's death.

The motivation for contacting police had been to stop Liam from getting into more serious trouble after a series of "minor misdemeanours'.

They had previously concluded that institutions for young offenders were inadequate. Liam was offered bail but at his court hearing on Thursday the family "decided that the best course of action was to entrust Liam to the New Zealand justice system and let him experience first-hand the serious effects of breaking the law as an adult."

Now they wanted to know how Liam "was allowed to die in the care of the New Zealand justice system".

Ian Ashley said the past few days had been "a terrible time" for the family. They had been further upset by earlier media reports, which portrayed Liam as a criminal.

"It's not that simple. It was a whole series of events."

Liam was the youngest of four children and worked as a car cleaner at Milano International, a car importing company run by his father.

A family friend said Liam was "a little cheeky" but a hard-worker, well-regarded by other staff. "He was a good kid. He didn't deserve this," said the friend.

Corrections Department policy over the escorting of prisoners states that "prisoners are safely, humanely and securely escorted".

Hawthorn said it was not policy to have security guards in the rear of prison vans with remand prisoners, but the number of guards assigned to a prison van depended on who was being escorted.

"We need to look after the guards' safety as well. There are staff in the vehicle and if there are incidents they become aware of, they will stop the van and get assistance."

Think twice before calling police

Parents should think twice before calling in police to deal with their troubled teens, says parenting organisation ToughLove.

While an out-of-control adolescent did not make for a happy home, parents needed to think seriously about the consequences of involving the authorities, said spokesman Peter Altman.

"A decision made with the best of intentions can sometimes lead to consequences like this," he said, referring to the death of 17-year-old Liam Ashley.

"Out of anger, people make decisions they subsequently regret and I suspect they [Liam's parents] must hugely regret this now. They will feel terribly terribly much to blame for what has happened."

Altman suspected the Ashleys thought Liam needed a short sharp shock. They would never have considered that decision would lead to his death.