A man who bludgeoned a German backpacker to death with a metal bar 21 years ago still denies killing her, and is now hoping the Criminal Case Review Commission will help clear his name.
Michael Scott Wallace was convicted of murdering Birgit Brauer in Lucy’s Gully, at Ōakura, southwest of New Plymouth.
Brauer’s body was found by a jogger on September 20, 2005, with her jeans unbuttoned, indicating sexual intent.
The discovery of her body sparked an 18-day manhunt before Wallace was arrested.
At the time, he was a 44-year-old drug-taking transient with an extensive criminal history. He denied her murder but a jury found him guilty.
He was sentenced in 2007 to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 years.
Today, Wallace appeared before the Parole Board, but he wasn’t seeking release, and was instead focused on his rehabilitative journey.
He also confirmed that he had sent the Criminal Case Review Commission a letter just before Christmas last year, about a bid to begin clearing his name.
“I received a letter just before Christmas.
“They’ve got a heck of a backlog but they are going forward and it may take a wee bit longer for them to investigate,” Wallace told the panel.
It was September 20, 2005, when Wallace picked up Brauer in Waitōtara as she was hitchhiking between Whanganui and New Plymouth.
He drove her to Lucy’s Gully in Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, formerly known as Egmont National Park, and bludgeoned her with a metal bar before unbuttoning her jeans.
When Wallace was disturbed by a passing vehicle, he dragged Brauer into the bush and stabbed her in the chest.
Wallace disposed of evidence and eventually made his way to the Manawatū area where, almost three weeks later, he was arrested.
He told police at the time that he did not want to hurt people, but he had, and he would be better off if police had shot him.
Brauer was described by those who knew her as reserved yet open, honest and friendly, someone who knew how to enjoy herself and had a good sense of humour.
At Wallace’s sentencing, Brauer’s parents told the court that the events of 2005 would never leave them.
“To this day, we cannot believe Birgit is not with us. A criminal like him does not deserve to live,” they said in their victim impact statement.
When the panel today asked for an update on his bid to the commission, Wallace confirmed he’d heard back from the organisation, and that he’d also been interviewed.
“It’s going to take a bit longer to investigate.
“It’s gone through two stages. I’ve been interviewed by them,” he said.
He was also asked about him maintaining his innocence.
“That’s why I’m involved with the Criminal Case Review [commission].”
The panel heard he was otherwise doing well in prison.
Wallace was also asked about how his rehabilitative treatment was going, and what he was talking about, given he still denied the murder.
Wallace said he had pleaded guilty to his earlier offending, “I did the jail”.
“This one here, the jury found me guilty.
“But it’s helping me realise that I don’t need to isolate myself so much, like I do, through my misunderstanding with different issues with my life.”
He was also asked his history of methamphetamine abuse, and the panel noted the sentencing judge’s comment that his “history is characterised by alcohol and drug abuse”.
“I’m getting older now,” he said, adding, “I think I can” put his abuse issues to one side now.
He was also asked about having a memory lapse of about a week and a half around the time of Brauer’s murder.
“... I was detoxing at the time. I’m not 100% sure.
“I was self-detoxing ... I was trying to stay away from people.”
Wallace’s parole was declined but will come before the board again next year.
After Wallace’s conviction for murder, it was revealed he had an extensive criminal history dating back to dishonesty offending in 1976, as well as arson and violence.
He twice raped a woman in 1983, after attacking her husband and locking him in a closet.
He served a five-year jail sentence for the home invasion and sex attack before later committing armed robbery and being sent back to prison.
Speaking to NZME after Wallace’s parole hearing last year, former top Taranaki detective Grant Coward recalled the murder as being callous and cold-blooded.
Now retired, Coward said the case had been “a real whodunnit”, and it was a team effort to track Wallace and help bring him to justice.
“It took longer than normal, but we got there in the end.”
He believed that if Wallace was not rehabilitative or admitting fault, he should have an extended period of imprisonment.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.