Parole refused for killer of Karla Cardno

The man convicted of murdering Lower Hutt schoolgirl Karla Cardno has been refused parole for the second time.

Paul Dally killed Karla, aged 13, in 1989 after catching her cycling home from a dairy in the Lower Hutt suburb of Taita.

She was believed to have been tortured and buried alive. Her body was found in a shallow grave on the Pencarrow coast.

In a decision announced yesterday, the Parole Board said it had decided not to release Dally on parole.

It is the second time Dally, now aged 39, has been refused parole.

His first appearance before the board, last year, led to police charging Karla's stepfather, Mark Middleton, with threatening to kill Dally. Middleton is awaiting trial on the charge as a legal battle continues over where it should be held.

Meanwhile, the Parole Board said it would not discuss its decisions relating to individual prisoners, but it expressed a desire to see the public gain a better understanding of the parole process.

"Parole, if granted, attempts to ensure that an offender's reintegration to the community is a planned process, under professional supervision, with support networks and parole conditions to minimise any risk of future offending," it said.

"Release on parole is never assured and is only granted after the Parole Board has made a thorough examination of an offender's case.

"Most offenders make several appearances before the board before it is satisfied that the best available arrangements have been made for the offender's release into the community."

Dally killed Karla after being freed into the Taita community in 1989, having served part of a nine-month sentence for an attack on an elderly woman in Auckland. He was sentenced to life in prison for the killing and has so far served 11 years.

A public outcry was raised last year when it was reported he had been allowed out on weekend leave pending possible parole.

The Cardno family want him to stay in jail until he dies.

- NZPA