Behaviour could be jail-related: expert

Rita Croskery. Photo / Richard Robinson

Bailey Junior Kurariki's behaviour could be a sign he has become institutionalised, says a criminologist - but not his victim's mother.

Rita Croskery, mother of murder victim Michael Choy, said Kurariki's behaviour was alarming but not surprising.

Choy was beaten to death with a baseball bat in 2001 by six attackers in South Auckland.

Kurariki subsequently became the youngest person in New Zealand to be convicted of manslaughter.

"Honestly I am just dreading what he's going to do next. I am not surprised at anything he does, I dread the thought that he's going to kill somebody else or do something awful like that."

Croskery said that six months before his release on parole Kurariki claimed to have found God and turned his life around.

She doubted he could change now. "I think he's too far gone. I think he's going to be a danger to society, I've always thought that."

Victoria University criminologist Professor John Pratt said people incarcerated at a young age become institutionalised young and almost always suffered long-term negative effects.

"Elite male boarding schools are bad enough for teaching young men very sexist cultural values and emphasising masculinity, so God knows what it's like in the places he's been to."