Christopher Gleeson murdered his stepfather Kenneth Moore - battering him around the head with a cricket bat and leaving him to die. He has been refused parole. Composite photo/POOL
Christopher Gleeson murdered his stepfather Kenneth Moore - battering him around the head with a cricket bat and leaving him to die. He has been refused parole. Composite photo/POOL
Twelve years after bludgeoning his stepfather to death with a cricket bat, Christchurch man Christopher Gleeson has given an explanation for his “disgusting act”.
And the victim’s brother has shared how - and why - he has forgiven the “callous” killer and his hope to meet with him in future.
Gleeson, now 37, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the murder of 65-year-old Ken Moore on January 6 that year.
The pair had argued at Moore’s Waltham home and Gleeson stormed away to “cool off”.
He returned later armed with a cricket bat and struck Moore three times on the side of his head.
Gleeson hit the pensioner once more as he lay on the ground.
He did not administer first aid or seek medical assistance to the man he “often referred to as his dad,” but instead surfed the internet for half an hour before taking Moore’s 50-inch television, EFTPOS card, phone and car.
Gleeson unsuccessfully tried to withdraw cash from Moore’s account at an ATM before returning to his Upper Riccarton home and setting the television up in his lounge.
The next morning, he returned to the murder scene to find his stepfather dead.
Gleeson then drove to Howzat cricket centre in Christchurch where he dumped his “bloodied” cricket bat and tried again to withdraw cash.
Then, he turned up for his club cricket match, telling teammates his dad was “ill and unhealthy” and “unlikely to survive the weekend”.
A homicide investigation was launched but within hours Gleeson confessed to police that he was responsible for Moore’s death.
He said he “had become so angry with the way (Moore) had been treating (him) over the last year or so”, that he wanted to “hurt him and make him suffer in the way that he had made (Gleeson) suffer”.
Kenneth Moore, 65, from Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
It was later claimed he was “in some type of fugue state” and had no recollection of the crime.
He later pleaded guilty to a charge of murder and was given a life sentence with a non-parole period of 11 years and four months.
His lawyer told the court that his life had “become unstuck” in the months leading up to the murder, during which he “zoned out”. No explanation could be given for the brutal attack.
Gleeson’s first parole hearing was in June 2023 and the board was concerned he had not completed “sufficient rehabilitation to address his risk”.
He had only completed a short programme and the board panel did not think that the reasons advanced by the inmate for the “terrible murder he committed” adequately explained what happened.
They said the “extreme callousness which formed part of the offending” had not been addressed and Gleeson was “focused on himself and the effect the offending had on him and his family”.
Parole was refused, and the board noted that a lengthy period of reintegration would be required if Gleeson ever was released.
The murderer appeared before the board again last month. This time he was not seeking parole - but for the first time offered insight into his offending.
“Mr Gleeson is participating in a medium-intensity rehabilitation programme. He has around three to four weeks left to complete that programme. He said he has learnt more about what led up to the offending from completing that programme,” said Parole Board panel convenor Kathryn Snook.
“He knows that bottling up his emotions is an issue.
“He also said that he felt betrayed because he thought that the victim would help him when he was struggling financially and that did not occur.
“He said that he was very, very angry when he committed the murder.”
Christopher Gleeson murdered his stepfather Kenneth Moore in his Christchurch home. Photo / Pool
A day before Gleeson’s hearing, members of the board met with Moore’s family.
Gleeson was told they “remain extremely distressed by their loss and the way in which the murder happened”.
They described the “callousness and the lack of remorse evident " from Gleeson’s actions “before, during and after the offending” and said they remain strongly opposed to his release.
“In response to this, Mr Gleeson said that he understands where the victims are coming from and knows that what he did was a disgusting act,” said Snook.
Gleeson was not seeking parole because he had accepted he still had further work to do on his rehabilitation - and then reintegration.
A recent psychological risk assessment put Gleeson at moderate risk of violent and general re-offending - an increase from the low risk he posed at his first hearing.
The psychologist was concerned Gleeson had demonstrated “willingness to use weapons which could result in lethal consequences” and said if he returned to offending it would be because “he is leading an unstable lifestyle, is unemployed, financially stressed and be experiencing relationship or interpersonal difficulties”.
They noted that “future acts of violence may well be preplanned and executed in a calculated and instrumental fashion”.
“The psychologist says that Mr Gleeson’s personality traits and post-offending behaviour may have been a barrier to him developing a robust understanding of the factors that contribute to his offending,” said Snook.
Gleeson would need to be reassessed by a psychologist for his “insight development” before seeing the board again.
“For today risk remains undue and parole is declined. Mr Gleeson needs to complete the treatment that is planned for him and then the reintegration activities which will follow,” said Snook.
To allow time for that, his next appearance was put off until January 2026.
Moore’s brother David supported the board’s decision, and felt Gleeson had made little progress in prison.
“He’s hardly done a damn thing… the evidence says he hasn’t done a hell of a lot in over 12 years,” he said.
“He says he is remorseful. Sorry, but he’s not displaying any empathy or remorse.”
David Moore said he was disappointed in Gleeson and often still angry at him - but had forgiven the violent killer.
“If I don’t forgive him, the psychology is that he still has some control over my hostility.
“It’s self-preservation. You can’t forgive willy-nilly, you can’t be blase about it. It’s not easy… forgiveness doesn’t exclude every other emotion.
Gleason confessed to killing his stepfather in his first police interview. Photo / 123rf
David Moore said most of his family did not feel the same about Gleeson. They were still angry - furious - about what happened.
“Everyone is scarred - understandably. But at the end of the day, I have the power to control what happens now and I refuse to become a volunteer to my own victimisation.
“I’d like to look Christopher in the eye and tell him that - and more importantly, the reasons I have chosen to forgive him.”
“It’s not something I decided the next day… it’s a lifetime thing,” he explained.
“You don’t just forgive once, you have to keep doing it.
“It’s a powerful emotion… there’s still a certain amount of anger… but by forgiving him I am free.
“If I don’t - what the hell are we left with? This shit eats you up for the rest of your life.”
David Moore is a counsellor who over the years has worked with offenders. His view of Gleeson was that he was “a lost child in adult form” who had no idea of his true self.
“At the end of the day, Christopher is just like so many other individuals - a product of our society, a product of his own home environment.
“I look forward to telling Christopher face-to-face why I chose to forgive him and hope that in the meantime, he will find inner healing from his childhood trauma in adult life.
“Perhaps the power of forgiveness can help that process as we all learn how to heal from such tragic circumstances.”
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
