Blakie killer still an 'undue risk to the community'

Hitch-hiker Lisa Blakie was murdered in 2000 and her body dumped in a river near Arthur's Pass. File photo / NZ Herald

The convicted murderer of Timaru hitch-hiker Lisa Blakie has a high risk of violent offending if let out of prison without a structured release plan, a psychologist has told the Parole Board.

Timothy David Taylor was denied parole because he remained an "undue risk to the safety of the community", the Parole Board said in a report released today.

Taylor was given a life sentence in 2002 for the murder of 20-year-old Ms Blakie, whose body was found weighted down by a boulder in Porter River near Arthur's Pass on Waitangi Day, 2000.

Ms Blakie was hitch-hiking to the West Coast when she was picked up on the outskirts of Christchurch by Taylor before being brutally killed.

Today's Parole Board report regarding last Thursday's hearing said Taylor maintained his innocence.

It noted he had a past history of rape of a female over the age of 15 and 78 convictions spanning a wide range of criminal activity.

"He could be described as a habitual criminal."

The report noted a meeting that had taken place between Taylor, his lawyer, a supporter and Ms Blakie's father - described as a restorative justice process.

"It is clear however that this meeting had nothing to do with restorative justice," panel convenor Justice Warwick Gendall said.

"Whilst Mr Taylor told us that it was to enable him to express his remorse and sorrow to the victim's father nevertheless, apparent from his maintaining his innocence, that could not have logically been the case."

Mr Taylor had been transferred to a self care unit and had completed a Drug Treatment Unit programme, the report said.

At last week's hearing, Taylor's lawyer told the board he was not seeking parole and his aim was to eventually progress to Release to Work.

The psychologist at the hearing said that Taylor was a "high-risk of general and violent offending" and a more structured release proposal was necessary before his release.

"That is very much in the distant future however," Justice Gendall said.