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A "cold calculated" killer has been freed after "dramatically" turning her life around in prison.
Michelle Richards, convicted under her married name Nicholson, and her 18-year-old lover, Robert Smith, were found guilty of murdering businessman Dennis Hind at his Temuka home in January 1997.
Richards and her three children were living with Mr Hind, who had changed his will in her favour, when she convinced Smith to murder him by repeatedly stabbed him while he was in his bed.
The Parole Board found Richards was convicted of a cold, calculated murder but said that while in prison she had studied extra-murally and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in psychology and sociology, one of a handful prisoners to do so while incarcerated.
"She is now 45. She is supported by family members today including her elderly mother and others who have become her family.
"All of the material we have and the references we have received from a wide range of people support her release now as being a person who has changed her life dramatically and who will no longer be an undue risk to the safety of the community."
The board also noted Richards' mother was suffering health problems and Richards was anxious to return to her and then to get on with her university career.
"The tragedy which brought her to prison was a particularly savage one. It has not only affected the family of the victim who was killed in a callous way but also the life of the young man who she prevailed upon to carry out this act for her.
"He was also convicted of murder and remains in prison.
"What has happened however is the entire context of her life has changed. She has now got a significant pro-social report from very fine people. She has made major changes.
"A serious drug addiction has been comprehensively dealt with by her and she maintains her drug-free life now by constantly and regularly seeing the addiction counsellor and attending Narcotics Anonymous. She will continue to do that."
- NZPA
