KEY POINTS:
Ian Ashley says the decision to place his son Liam in a prison van with a hardened criminal was made "with total disregard for the protection of human life".
"We cannot understand that my son was placed with a person with these convictions and this history known to
the Justice Department," he told the Herald last night.
"We cannot understand that for a minor misdemeanour, my son was placed with this psychopath."
The killer's mother agreed that questions should be asked of Corrections and Chubb.
"I am in no way making excuses for what he did, but why did they put this boy in with him? It is like putting a bag of money in front of a robber and saying 'I dare you'."
Ian and Lorraine Ashley decided to use the justice system after exhausting all other avenues of dealing with Liam, who had attention deficit disorder.
They have already spoken out about Chubb's failure to obey Corrections Department regulations that say youths and adults must be kept apart outside prison "where practicable".
Yesterday, the Beach Haven couple learned the gruesome details of what happened inside the truck and were able to comment for the first time on the man's criminal past.
Mr Ashley said he was furious with the decisions made, which showed an absolute lack of common sense.
"It is a total waste of life. I know these evil people exist in New Zealand. Why place them with our boys?"
He wanted answers to simple questions such as why his son and the man could not have been placed with other prisoners in the van, who were understood to be charged with less serious offences.
Mr Ashley said hearing the details of the murder were hard to take, "just as they would be hard to take for any parent of any child in this country".
Mrs Ashley said: "I think finding out how your son spent the last 20 minutes or so of his life, which is what we've just found out today, doesn't give me closure at all."
The family went to see the prison truck again yesterday because Mrs Ashley and some of the family hadn't seen it.
The family were also offended further at the court yesterday when the man's lawyer revealed the murderer hadn't deliberately worn at his first court appearance a T-shirt with the slogan "Keep your eyes on the rising star of crime" on its back, saying it had been given to him by the prison.
Mr Ashley said the family had asked for an apology at the time and had never received one.
The family would give Corrections time to complete its report by the extended time of November 30, but wanted no more delays.
"I'll say what I've been saying since day one. We want to hear the truth about what happened to our son."