Timebomb killer gets 13 years minimum

By PATRICK GOWER and CATHY ARONSON

A man who fulfilled his promise to kill his de facto wife will spend at least three extra years in jail after a judge described him as a "timebomb waiting to happen".

Nikora Allan Turner, aged 32, was sentenced to life imprisonment in August after he was found guilty of murdering Taumarunui mother Te Miringa Tipene, also known as Milly Dunn.

Yesterday, in the High Court at Hamilton, Justice Grant Hammond extended his minimum-parole period to 13 years.

Justice Hammond said Turner had served six prison sentences for assaulting females and had ignored several warnings his abuse would one day lead to Ms Dunn's death.

He had shown her utter contempt after the final beating by leaving her to decompose in the house for six days before she was found by her daughter on a social call.

"The short point is that you are a timebomb waiting to happen to the women around you.

"You are not remorseful and ... you still think she got what she deserved. In my view you are still a threat and will be for a long time to other women."

A murderer's minimum non-parole period - the shortest time behind bars before applying for parole - is usually set at 10 years.

When he killed Ms Dunn on August 23 last year, Turner was on parole from a jail sentence for assaulting her and police bail from an incident that day where he had threatened to kill her.

Her sister, Raewyn Nordstrom, said yesterday that she blamed the murder on the Department of Corrections for paroling Turner to her home, and said the family wanted a law change that set a minimum time frame before someone could be paroled to their victim's home.

Women's Refuge chief executive Merepeka Raukawa-Tait last night agreed and said abused women would find it hard to turn their abusive partners away.

Corrections Minister Matt Robson refused to comment on the case yesterday or release a completed audit on the parole management of Turner, requested by the Herald under the Official Information Act.

It is understood the report does not criticise individuals, including the parole officer, but suggests changes to parole management.

During the hearing, Crown Prosecutor Ross Douch told the court Turner viewed women as "punching bags", and the investigating officer, Derek Webb, said later that Turner was an "absolute psychopath" responsible for one of the most horrific crimes he had seen in his 31-year career.

Turner's lawyer, Sean Ellis, conceded that aspects of the killing "beggared belief" but said "he is not responsible for a society where he can voice his threats to get them ignored."

Turner had written threatening letters to Ms Dunn (addressed 'My lovely') several times during his last prison sentence, including one which said "I crack you and leave, I get life."

Mr Ellis said that to say the writing was on the wall in this case was an understatement. But Turner was delivered to Ms Dunn by a police constable on the night of her death.

Detective Sergeant Webb defended the actions to the Herald yesterday, saying the police were helpless to save Ms Dunn, who had cuddled up to Turner in front of the officer. "If a person won't tell us what is happening to them how can we help them? Our hands were tied - we can only act within our legal boundaries."

He said many in Taumarunui had warned Ms Dunn she would be killed at Turner's hands, including the Women's Refuge, who had even smuggled her out of town in the months before.

Raewyn Nordstrom said 13 years was not long enough considering Ms Dunn had left a son who had been taken away by CYPS because of Turner and whose last memory was of her with a black eye.

"To a 14-year-old boy with no mother, it's not very long at all."