Caller demands reward and immunity for Jack Nicholas info

A man claiming to be an accessory after the fact in the murder of Puketitiri farmer Jack Nicholas has come forward, demanding $50,000 and immunity from prosecution in exchange for information that could catch the killer.

Through an anonymous call late last month to the Sensible Sentencing Trust in Napier, the man outlined his demands but refused to divulge any details about his involvement in the August 28 shooting or what information he might have.

Nothing more was heard from the caller until a letter was received by the trust on Tuesday, repeating the demands and asking that police grant "total, confidentional immunety (sic) from prosecution for any crime that may or may not have been committed".

The letter was postmarked by the Auckland Mail Centre.

In January, the trust announced they would give a reward to anyone who could supply information leading to an arrest and although they had received several calls since, this was the first they were taking seriously.

"He said he was an accessory after the fact, then asked what the reward was, and I told him it was about $37,000," said trust spokesman, Garth McVicar, who took the call and has fronted the community-funded reward campaign.

"He said if the information he had leads to a conviction, the reward would be $50,000."

Although pledges totalling $50,000 had since been secured, inquiry head Detective Inspector Godfrey Watson said no immunity would be considered until police knew what involvement the man had in the murder and what information he was prepared to share.

"If they have genuine information they should either contact us or the trust and we can discuss the ways and means of going about it," Mr Watson said.

"We have to be satisfied, first of all, that the information will have some relevance and then there's a long legal process that has to be gone through before we grant (immunity)."

It was the fourth or fifth time during the eight-month inquiry that someone had claimed to have information on the killing.

"It's quite common in these sorts of inquiries to get these sorts of things but I'll remain neutral until I get some information to prove otherwise."

Immunity agreements were decided on by the Crown Law office and were "not given lightly", he said.

Jack Nicholas' younger brother, Craig Nicholas, had made a "major contribution" to the reward and while he wanted closure for Jack's wife, Agnes, and the family, he told Hawke's Bay Today he had mixed feelings about someone coming forward to claim the money and did not want it undermining the "great work" put in by police.

"Personally, I feel it could be rewarding someone who apparently claims to be an accessory," said Mr Nicholas.

Mr McVicar said he was prepared to be an independent intermediary between the informant and police and would meet the man at any elected place. He urged the man to come forward for the sake of Jack's family.

"Obviously, his conscience was playing on him to make the initial call and what we'd like to say to him is that we've met our side of the deal by getting the money, the police have offered what I consider to be a reasonable way forward. Now it's his turn to come to the party."

- NZPA