Murderer kept to himself, inquest is told

An inquest into the death of convicted murderer and rapist Taffy Hotene has begun.
Taffy Herbert Hotene received an 18-year non-parole life sentence in October 2000 for murdering Auckland journalist Kylie Jones, 23, and preventive detention for raping her.
Before the attack, Hotene had completed eight years of a 12-year prison sentence for attacking three Wanganui women in 1992. He had been out on parole for seven weeks when he attacked and killed Ms Jones.
He had a history of violence, starting at a young age, and was associated with Black Power from the age of 14.
Hotene first appeared in court aged 15 for theft, and by 17 he was appearing for attempted rape at knifepoint. He was found dead, aged 39, at Whanganui Prison on November 26, 2009.
Coroner Carla na Nagara heard the first of two days of evidence concerning his death at the Wanganui District Court this week.
Hotene's death is believed to have been self-inflicted but the coroner has yet to return her findings.
Details of the circumstances surrounding the cause of his death are suppressed.
He was found to have a small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - found in cannabis - in his blood but no alcohol.
On the day he died, Hotene had been working at a concrete plant on the prison grounds, where he had been painting.
Hotene's whanau liaison officer Tamara Smith and corrections officer Kenneth Ihaia both described a private man who kept to himself, who seemed generally happy and spoke often of wanting to reconnect with his daughter and parents.
Mr Ihaia, who was Hotene's case manager in the Maori focus unit he was housed in, knew him for about a year and would talk to him on a regular basis.
Hotene was a hard person to get to know, he said, but over time he started to trust him and would talk about his life, his children, and how he wanted to rebuild a relationship with them. "He wasn't close to many people there, he sort of kept to himself most of the time."
Hotene told him he had been molested as a child and that Black Power had supported him from a young age.
To this end, Hotene had been attempting to take legal action against the state for his experiences in state care as a child.
Mr Ihaia said he was shocked when he heard Hotene was dead.
"I couldn't believe it. There was no indication that he was suicidal, he was happy."
Ms Smith said she had been helping Hotene in his attempt to track down his parents and sister, but they had not managed to identify and make contact with them before his death.
He did not have any relationship with the whanau he did know. He wrote letters but did not receive any response, she said.
An investigation into Hotene's death by Department of Corrections inspector Niuia Aumua found there had been a number of system and procedural failures between the unit Hotene was housed in and staff at the concrete plant on the day of his death.
The failures meant the prisoner's movements were not tracked effectively during the day and there was a period of time when Hotene was unaccounted for.
Two letters were recovered from Hotene's file by Mr Aumua following his death, one undated and addressed to the parents of Ms Jones, expressing his regret and remorse, the other an apparent suicide note dated October 2005.
The inquest is expected to reconvene in two or three weeks, when evidence will be heard from Whanganui Prison manager Hati Kaiwai.
 
Taffy Hotene's life of crime
July 1985  _ Theft _ Admonished.
March 1985  _ Theft _ Fined,
admonished.
February 1987  _ Attempted sexual violation _ Jailed 15 months.
July 1988  _ Assault with intent to commit sexual violation, breaking and entering _ Jailed four years.
June 1991  _ Burglary x2 _ Six months' periodic detention.
September 1991  _ Possession of offensive weapon, possession of unlicensed firearm, receiving stolen property, burglary, breach of bail, theft, breach of periodic detention x2 _ Jailed eight years, three months total.
September 1991  _ Escape from custody _ extra month in jail.
April 1992  _ Escape from custody, aggravated robbery x3, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm x2, rape, assault with intent to commit rape _ Jailed 12 years.
August 2000  _ Murder, rape _ jailed 18 years non parole, preventive detention.
November 2009  _ Found dead at Whanganui Prison.