Charitable Trust House Used As A Remand Facility For Theo Kriel

Clio Francis of the Sunday Star Times has written a feature on the treatment of teenage murderer Theo Kriel who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of British schoolgirl Liberty Templeman in the small Northland town of Kerikeri (see posts tagged Libby Templeman) and of how he was living in a house in the settlement of Maungatapere during the trial until local residents organised a petition asking for him to be removed.

The property, owned by a charitable trust,  was in effect used as a remand prison which is something that is not normally available to other youth offenders during trials. It is bound to lead to claims that he received special treatment.

To date no details of the location of Kriel’s present incarceration have been released and we assume that this is because it’s subject to suppression:

“The teenage killer of Liberty Templeman lived in a spacious six-bedroom house during his murder trial, and was regularly visited there by family until a petition by outraged neighbours in the rural Northland street saw him transferred to a police station.

Liberty Templeman’s parents, Rebecca and Andrew, were unaware of the special living arrangements for Theo Kriel, 16, until approached by the Sunday Star-Times yesterday.
She said she would be demanding answers from the authorities as to why Kriel was given such special allowances and allowed to have his mum with him when no consideration had been given to the needs of her own family.

She and her husband had had to miss their 13-year-old son’s first day at college because the murder trial had started on the same day and the authorities had not been willing to delay its start.

She said Kriel had never given her family a second thought yet the authorities had bent over backwards to ensure he could have his mother with him. “It absolutely disgusts me,” Rebecca Templeman said.

Kriel was not on bail during the trial, but had a number of unusual custodial conditions, including visits from his family and sole use of an otherwise empty facility.

In addition, there were house alarms primed to go off if he left, and he wore a monitored electronic bracelet at all times. His mother or a carer was with him constantly at the house, and his father and younger brother were also allowed to visit.

At weekends he returned to an Auckland youth justice facility. Details of the arrangements were suppressed for the duration of the trial…

From Kriel’s arrest soon after the murder until the beginning of the trial he had lived in a secure youth justice residence in Auckland.
His two-week trial took place at the High Court at Whangarei but a lack of suitable imprisonment facilities in the area meant he was kept at a house in the rural settlement of Maungatapere, 12km west of the city centre.

The house was owned by the Otangarei Trust, a charitable organisation that has residential and social service contracts with CYF in Northland.

But midway through the trial, residents learnt the identity of their new neighbour. An email was circulated and a petition taken door-to-door calling for him to leave. In all, 56 signatures were collected from residents on Pukeatua Rd.
“Effectively, they used the place as a remand prison and that’s not what it’s supposed to be at all,” a resident, who did not want to be named, told the Sunday Star-Times.
“It would have cost a lot of money too.”

Youths remanded in custody are normally kept in secure CYF facilities while their cases are before the courts.

In the past when no beds have been available in such facilities, youths have been temporarily kept in police cells or motels where they are monitored around the clock by security guards.

It is CYF policy to keep young offenders housed as close to their families as possible.

CYF acting general manager of operations Marion Heeney said Kriel was held in a secure youth justice residence in Auckland during the weekends while the trial was on, and in a “supervised community placement” during the week.

She said the trial judge had agreed the Otangarei Trust house was the best option considering Kriel’s age and the distance from Whangarei to the nearest secure youth justice residential facility.

Heeney said when CYF learnt a complaint had been sent to the mayor, local councillors and MP Phil Heatley they took action.

“The complaint meant the suppression order in relation to the custody arrangements for trial that prevented disclosure of his location had been breached, and the accommodation in the community had been compromised.

“The trial judge reversed his earlier decision and directed that Theo would stay in a dedicated area of the police cells away from adults during the week and return to the youth justice residence on the weekend.”

Howard League For Penal Reform spokeswoman Diana Taylor said it was sad there had been an “outcry” when agencies had been doing their best in difficult circumstances.

“The irony is that had Mr Kriel been bailed to his home address instead of being remanded in custody, the outcry would have undoubtedly been even greater.”

Additional reporting by Lois Cairns.”

According to figures obtained under the Official Information Act by another newspaper, The Sunday News , there are 20 other teenage killers in prison at present:

“THERE are 20 teenage killers currently behind bars. The inmates, all aged from 15 to 19, are serving time for murder or manslaughter, according to Department of Corrections figures.

They include Jahche Broughton, 15, who bashed 27-year-old Scottish tourist Karen Aims (sic) to death in Taupo in January 2008; and teenage cousins Courtney Patricia Churchwood, 18, and Loi-lea Waiora Te Wini, 15, who murdered retired Opotiki school teacher John Rowe in November 2008.

The statistics – released to Sunday News last month under the Official Information Act – don’t include Theo Kriel, the latest teen killer to be jailed. Kriel, 16, was sentenced last month to a minimum of 11 years’ jail for the murder of Kerikeri teen Liberty Templeman in November 2008.

There are 93 jailed killers aged 40 to 44 – the largest group of imprisoned killers. They are followed by 92 killers aged 35 to 39 and 91 killers aged 30 to 34, the Corrections figures show.

And there are two inmates aged in their 70s serving time for murder or manslaughter.

The figures come as police this week released national crime statistics revealing murder rates are at a 10-year high. Last year, 65 people were murdered – up from 52 the previous year.

The statistics showed a 9% rise in violent crime and that overall crime rose by 4.6%.

According to the latest statistics on court appearances, 126,221 offenders appeared in court in 2008 – 7450 more than in 2007. Among them were 11,000 defendants aged 20 to 24 on traffic-related charges.
In total, 1850 people were granted name suppression and 2670 interim name suppression in 2008-9. Up to January 31, judges had granted name suppression for 1016 people and interim name suppression for 1536 people”

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Theo Kriel Given Life Sentence

Theo Kriel was today given a life imprisonment for the murder of Liberty Rose Templeman.
He must serve a minimum period of 11.5 years before he can be considered for parole. He must also serve a concurrent sentence of 6 months for indecent assault.

Stuff.co.nz had an account of the hearing:

“Life imprisonment means just that. Unless you satisfy the prison board otherwise, you will be in jail for the rest of your life,” Justice Raynor Asher told Kriel.
The teenage Kriel was found guilty of murder and indecent assault after a trial last month which heard how in November 2008, when he was just 14, he beat and strangled Liberty, 15, and dumped her body in a creek.
The judge said the fact that Kriel was a youth and not a very mature one at the time of the murder was a factor in his crime.
“At the time of the murder, although possessed with considerable height and strength, you were immature.”
“Your calmness in the days that followed was of a concern, it was a blankness,” the judge said.
“You acted as a child.
“I accept that your terrible action was out of character; this is confirmed by the professional reports that have been prepared in the 18 months that you have been in custody.”
“I see the drivers as being anger driven by we know not what, and then panic and the desire not to be caught.”
“It would be manifestly unjust to impose a minimum sentence of 17 years.”
The judge’s starting point was 13 years imprisonment.
“I am entirely satisfied that the attack on her was unprovoked,” the judge said.
“You appear to remove yourself from the reality of what you’ve done.”
Kriel, 16, sat between his two guards in the dock. He had a shaved head and was wearing a white and grey striped shirt and loose pants.
He sat slouched, head dipped low, mouth slightly agape. His eyes shifted across to Templeman family members and later at the judge. His stare was blank.
“The damage is not just limited to you, it extends to Liberty’s close group of friends who will live their life with the loss of such a close and dear friend,” the judge said.
The wider Kerikeri community had been shocked by this brutal and inexplicable killing, he said.
“She was a very special and talented woman, with a very exciting future,” the judge said.
The judge said he had no doubt that it was a chance circumstance Liberty and Kriel had ended up walking together. He said the precise details of what happened after Liberty and Kriel crossed over the bridge on their walk together was unclear.
“You are the only living witness and you have given four different version of events,” the judge said to Kriel.
The judge said the inherent problem with Kriel’s version of event was that it was unlikely that Kriel could have thought that he was threatened with police action if all he had done was accidentally push Liberty into the stream.
What seemed more likely, the judge said, was that Kriel had made a sexual advance on Liberty and she had punched Kriel, leaving a red mark on his chest. That was speculation though, he said.
The judge said after that attack Kriel had acted as if nothing had happened and glibly lied to Liberty’s parents and then police. “On the Friday you came into the police station with your parents.”
“In that third statement you confessed to killing Liberty,” the Judge said. “

The sentence is comparable to that given to Jahche Broughton, who was 14 when he bashed Karen Aim to death in Taupo. Broughton received a life sentence with a minimum non parole period of 12 years.

Our Wordpress Blog has up-to-date information and discussions about this case

Liberty Templeman's Parents Speak Out.

 

Liberty's parents pictured at the murder scene, 2008

The Northern Advocate has picked up on an exclusive story that was published in the print version of the UK's Colchester Daily Gazette. In it Liberty Templeman's parents spoke about the trial in Kerikeri of Theo Kriel who was found guilty of the murder and indecent assault of their daughter.

According to the Advocate's version of the story Mr Templeman wants Kriel moved to an adult prison and says he has yet to feel the repercussions of his crimes:

"Andy Templeman, 49, told the UK-based Daily Gazette newspaper that Kriel should be in an adult prison rather than a secure youth detention facility.

"Apart from lack of freedom to walk down the street, there has been no repercussions to his actions for the last year and a bit.

"I want him to go to adult prison, and sooner rather than later. The thought of him having not quite the life of Reilly but having it fairly easy is absolutely abhorrent.

"However, I don't want to join those campaigning groups and have Liberty made into a celebrity campaign. This is between us and the courts or whoever."

Asked about his thoughts on the boy himself, Mr Templeman was dismissive. "I don't really have the head space to think about him," he said.

"There is too much going on to really start thinking about him and his family. I've been watching him and his family throughout the trial, just to see if there's any emotion over this from any of them, and there's absolutely none, just no emotion at all. 

 That last comment is quite significant, we are reminded of the mother of the 14 year old youth who battered Scottish Woman Karen Aim to death telling Karen's family "He's not putting us through shame. We are not ashamed." (source) The article continued:

"I think when the pathologist was talking there was some beginnings of emotion from his mum, but that was it."

He said Kriel's family had made no apology to him so far.

"Me and Rebecca have no desire to go and speak to them at all. If anything, it has to be the other way around," he said.

Looking ahead to next month's sentencing, he could say only that nothing would make up for the loss of his daughter.

"Whatever the sentence, for murder it's only something like a minimum 10 years. Whatever it is, it doesn't bring Liberty back. Whatever it is, it will never be enough."

It is stunning that Kriel has yet to show any remorse for his actions and appalling that the Templeman's were forced to endure the excuses and weak defence that were presented during the trial.

We've already commented that for murder to be proven so must intent and he’d already admitted to killing Libby. So we are left with the supposition that the trial was held because the only defence open to him was to try to show provocation. The jury didn’t buy it and decided that Kriel did intend to kill Libby Templeman. Why? we may never really know. I’m sure her family, who were forced to endure a trial and the glare of media publicity, would like that burning question answered too.

There are all sorts of rumours around as to the nature of Kriel’s personality, talk of him being bullied and of him keeping a scrap book about Libby. But, it’s just that – nothing more than rumours, maybe we will know more about him and his thought processes when mitigation and pre-sentencing reports are presented next month.

Some NZ newspapers also published today the image of Theo Kriel as he appeared just before Libby's murder in 2008 after clarification on the suppression order was given by the trial judge.

This blog will not be publishing out of date images of a child, when a more up-to-date image of Kriel is released we may.

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Theo Kriel. Suppression Orders And Bullying

The name of the boy that killed British school girl Libby Templeman has now been released. He is Hermanus Theodorus Kriel, known as Theo Kriel.

For some unknown reason his image has been suppressed until sentencing next month.

Just how this is going to work in practice is unclear because he has posted videos of himself on the net and they've been there since the middle of 2008. Is he technically in breach of his own suppression order and doesn't this highlight just how flawed New Zealand's suppression laws are?

According to a report on Stuff:

"A separate suppression order prohibiting publication of his image will remain in place until his sentencing on March 26. The court heard Kriel had moved with his family from South Africa to New Zealand when he was eight-years-old. He attended Kerikeri High School with Liberty, but told the court the pair had not been close friends.

They had both been in Year 10 at school and would occasionally text one another. "

Immediately after the verdict yesterday Liberty's father said:

"Since the first of November, 2008, when the life of our beautiful daughter Liberty was stolen, our lives have been in turmoil.

"It's every parent's worst nightmare that their child should die at the hands of someone else. We still struggle to see her without – I can't say his name until 12 o'clock tomorrow – just being there in the background."

The family did not understand why they had to go through the traumatic trial process after the boy had confessed so early in the case, Mr Templeman said.

He rejected the defence's claim the killing was manslaughter.

"For us there could not have been another verdict. If his only motive was to hide Liberty's body believing her to be already dead, then why did he drag her semi-naked through the shrub and into the stream and then hide her under the ginger [tree] when the long grass surrounding her would have already have hid her?

"Libby gave so much to so many and wanted nothing in return. Her big heart, her warm smile, vivacious personality will be missed by all who knew her."

The officer in charge of the case, Inspector Martin Ruth, said it had been a gruelling police investigation. "It was a tough job right from the start. At the end of the day there are no real winners, this young boy's going to get what's coming to him."

I'm just pleased for the Templemans that they got some justice in the end."

We'll reserve judgment as to whether the Templemans, and Libby, have got justice until the sentencing hearing next month.

A youth, who was 14 when he beat Scottish woman Karen Aim to death with a baseball bat in Taupo in 2008, got 'life' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12.5 years. Karen's father has vowed to fight any parole bid the youth may make in future.

It's a reminder that, despite' justice' being handed out, families of murder victims seldom know a moment of true peace and are forced to re-live the anguish of the crime every time a parole hearing is scheduled.

Balance that against a decision to restrict publication of Kriel's image  and you have to wonder whose interests the law really puts first.

Kriel a product of a bullying culture?
The trial verdict has been the subject of a thread on the NZ Yahoo message boards. One comment by elamental1@ymail.com caught our attention as it may explain why Kriel reacted in the way he did:

"I feel sorry for the boy since he was the focus of relentless bullying at Kerikeri High School. I don't actually know him but lots of students there who said his life was made hell. No wonder he as terrified to be mocked yet again! Why did this not come out in the trial? Kerikeri High School management and teachers should take a look at themselves!!!"

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Guilty Of Murder - Libby Templeman's Killer Convicted

The 16 year old youth who killed British school girl Liberty Rose Templeman was today found guilty of her murder by a 11-1 majority verdict, he was also found guilty of indecent assault.

The boy, who is thought to come from another southern hemisphere country, has been granted name suppression until overseas relatives have been informed of the verdict. He had already been named some time ago on a social networking website and comments were left beneath a video he'd posted on the net.

The verdicts, which came after a lengthy jury deliberation, will provide some relief for Libby's family, who are still left wondering why this kid did what he did. Was it a spur of the moment act or something that arose from a personality disorder that renders him likely to re-offend? we may never know.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the Templemans and to Libby's friends and school mates. Hers was such a bright light, gone too soon.

For more posts about Libby Templeman see here


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Libby Templeman's Mother Gives Evidence

The mother of Libby Templeman, the British school girl strangled in Kerikeri on 1 November 2008, has given evidence at the trial of the boy accused of her assault and murder.

Mrs Templeman told of her desperate efforts to find Libby after she failed to answer her text messages on the night she disappeared.

She said she'd phone the accused boy and Libby's friends, only to find out that the last person her daughter had been seen with was the boy.

She then phoned him again the next morning to find out why there was a half hour gap between the boy saying he'd left Libby near Kerikeri High school and him receiving a phone call from someone else.

Libby's father is also due to give evidence today.

In 2005 the Templeman's emigrated from Brightlingsea in Essex looking for a better life in New Zealand. Libby was a pupil at Colne Community School.

For other posts about Libby please click Here


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Libby Templeman Trial, Not Guilty Plea Entered -Updated

The trial of a teenager charged with the murder of British school girl Liberty Rose Templeman has got underway at the High Court in Whangarei.

The boy, who was 14 at the time that Libby died, has entered not guilty pleas to the charges of murder and indecent assault.

Various sources have said that the boy was in the same class as Libby at her old school in Kerikeri but was not her boyfriend. She had returned to the area to visit friends after her family moved to Auckland for work reasons.

Update
A report about the opening day of the trial, during which the court was told that it would hear tapes in which the boy admitted to strangling Libby, was given on Voxy

"The youth, now aged 16, has name suppression and quietly pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and the indecent assault of Liberty Rose Templeman at Kerikeri in early November 2008. At the time the accused was aged 15 and an acquaintance of the dead girl but not her boyfriend.

Justice Raynor Asher continued suppression of the accused's name - he can only be identified as "K" - pending a review at the outcome of the trial which is expected to last three weeks. The Crown will call more than 40 witnesses.

Liberty Templeman, known to friends as Libby, was English and migrated to New Zealand with her parents in 2005. The family settled in Kerikeri where she attended the local high school. In late 2008 Libby's parents moved to Auckland for better work opportunities.

Mr Smith said Libby kept up her contacts with friends in Kerikeri and on a Friday in early November 2008, she took a bus to Kerikeri to meet up with some of them, including a boyfriend. On the Saturday they socialised and there was an impromptu barbeque at which the accused was also present. That began to break up about 6.30pm and Libby set off to meet her boyfriend at a local supermarket. She never got there.

"K" was seen with Libby who, like most young people was busily texting, said Mr Smith. They ducked off the road and suddenly the texting stopped.

The Crown's case was that "K" knocked the girl down then strangled her. After that he dragged her unconscious down to the bank of the Wairoa stream. He pulled down her pants exposing her genitalia and lifted her bra to expose a breast in an attempt to indicate Libby was the victim of rape.

The accused then cycled home where he hid a blood-spotted green shirt he was wearing in a plastic bag in bushes where it was later found by the police.

He went inside and showered.

Libby's boyfriend was concerned when she did not show up, it was not like her to be late, said Mr Smith. After a search with a parent the police were contacted that evening. Libby's father was contacted and he drove through the night to Kerikeri.

More than 24 hours later her body was found on the banks of the stream.

Mr Smith told the jury they would hear police interviews with "K," some videoed, and his admission of attacking Libby and re-arranging her clothing to make it look like a rape.

Earlier Justice Asher told the jury of six men and six women to ignore what they may heard or read of the crime and not to jump to early conclusions.

"Your task is to be dispassionate ... and that includes putting aside sympathy for the accused."

Our thoughts are with Libby's family and friends, the next few days will be a very difficult time for them and they are sure to have the full support of their communities in the UK and in New Zealand.

The case is being followed in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph

For other posts about Libby please click here

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Libby Templeman Remembered On The Anniversary Of Her Death

Family and friends have gathered to mark the anniversary of the tragic death of British schoolgirl Libby Templeman who was murdered in the small Northland town of Kerikeri on 1 November 1 2008.

Her mother Rebecca told the press

"This past year has felt like 10 years, going so slowly yet it only feels like a couple of months ago that we last saw and heard our beautiful, vibrant daughter. Her ‘surround sound’ is greatly missed," says Rebecca.

"Each day we wake up, and just breath in and out in the hope that we have the strength to make it through another day. Trying not to suffer the pain in which Libby was taken from us so violently. "We live her last few minutes every day, like a looped recording, reeling in the disbelief, pain and humiliation in which she suffered.

"So many emotions, so many unanswered questions, but the main one being: ‘Why’. Never shall we understand or accept and nor should we. No one should."

 Our heart goes out to them for their awful loss and for the pain they must endure every day.

A boy, who was 14 at the time of Libby's passing, was arrested 5 days after she was found and has been charged with indecent assault and murder. He is due to stand trial on February 8, has name suppression and is in the custody of Child, Youth and Family in Auckland. Posters on Libby's Bebo page have already named the boy who they think is being held, they say he was at school with Libby in Kerikeri and helped look for her after she disappeared.

"Friend of murdered Brit Liberty Templeman charged": Article in the UK Daily Mirror
"Boy, 14, charged with Liberty's sex murder": Article in the UK Sun


Bebo Tribute Page for Libby - link

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Trial For Libby Templeman's Murder - Date Set

An 8 February 2010 date has been set for the trial of a youth accused of the murder of British schoolgirl Libby Templeman in Kerikeri last year.

The youth, who was aged 14 at the time of Libby's death, is accused of indecent assault and murder.

The trial's scheduled for a 3 week period.

For background see blog post : British schoolgirl murdered in Kerikieri

British Schoolgirl Murdered in Kerikeri

Police today announced that a 14 year old student from Kerikeri high school has been charged with the murder and sexual assault of 15 year old Libby Templeman who died last weekend. Although the youth was known to Libby police say that it he was not her boyfriend.

Libby moved from Britain three years ago to the small close knit Northland town of Kerikeri. Friends say the family had got "fed up" with Britain and had decided to emigrate to New Zealand for a better life.

However, due to a downturn in work, the Templemans had relocated to the North Shore where Libby was due to start school at Rangitoto last week and had already auditioned for a part in the school production. She had returned to Kerikeri on her own to visit friends for the weekend.

The small rural town was stunned by her murder, she was a vivacious and well loved member of the community and will be very much missed by everyone who knew her.

Libby's ambition was to be an actress, a singer or anything theatrical and had appeared in pantomimes when they lived in the UK and also in Kerikeri. She was fun and outgoing, a bubbly girl who had grown into an independent, outgoing young woman.

Her funeral and public memorial will be held tomorrow.

RIP Libby.