Bell's murder attack could not have been foreseen, says Crown

6.15pm

UDPATE - The Crown today denied that it could have been foreseen that William Bell would commit a triple murder while on parole.

In a landmark damages case being heard in the High Court at Auckland, Crown lawyer John Pike said Bell was undoubtedly a violent man.

"But it is true, sadly, of a great many people walking the streets who have been released on parole," he said.

"The question is whether there was a sufficient pattern (of behaviour) and that pattern was going to be repeated. We say there is nothing like this."

The court is hearing a crown application to strike out an action against the Attorney-General brought by Tai Hobson, the husband of one of three people murdered by Bell at the Panmure RSA in December 2001.

At the time of the murders, Bell was on parole after having been released from prison part-way through a five-year sentence for aggravated robbery.

Mr Hobson is seeking $550,000 in general and exemplary damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering caused by the death of his wife, Mary, 47.

He is suing for alleged negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance in a public office.

He has claimed that the probation service breached a duty of care in failing to monitor Bell properly while he was on parole.

He has also claimed that Bell, who was allowed to work at the Panmure RSA, had a propensity for violence that made it foreseeable that he would rob a bank, bar or hotel.

Mr Pike said there was an element of risk-taking when people were released on parole.

He compared the situation to that of psychiatric patients who were released into the community.

But he said that, while Bell had committed an aggravated robbery before the murders, it had not indicated a propensity to commit more.

He said the argument for foreseeability was that the probation service would have reasonably contemplated that Bell would commit a type of offence that would cause the relative of a victim to suffer nervous shock.

"That was unforeseeable."

Bell, now 26, is serving a 30-year non-parole prison term for the murders of Mrs Hobson, Wayne Johnson and Bill Absolum.

The hearing wound up today with Justice Heath reserving his decision on whether the case should proceed to trial.

- NZPA and Newstalk ZB