Connor Morris was killed in August 2014. Photo / Supplied
The man found guilty of murdering Connor Morris with a sickle during a violent west Auckland street brawl has appeared before the Parole Board for the first time.
In September 2015 Michael Thrift Murray was found guilty of murdering Morris - a patched Head Hunter gang member and partner of influencer Millie Elder-Holmes.
He admitted attacking and killing Morris - but denied the charge of murder.
Murray claimed there was no murderous intent, that he was trying to defend his younger brother from being attacked by Morris.
After a two-week trial a jury of eight men and four women found him guilty.
He was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
Taking into account time served awaiting trial and sentencing, Murray became eligible for parole earlier this month.
He appeared before the New Zealand Parole Board on Wednesday, with his lawyer claiming he was “almost there” in terms of being released.
But by the end of the hour-long grilling, Murray’s bid for early release was denied for at least another 18 months.
Herald senior journalist Anna Leask covered the Murray trial, sentencing and appeal and looks back at the case in her podcast A Moment In Crime.
The Morris family were contacted before the podcast aired. They did not want to comment publicly but wanted to ensure people knew how much Connor was loved by them.
Episodes of A Moment In Crime are usually released monthly and, so far, Leask has covered more than 55 cases including the murders of Grace Millane, Scott Guy, Austin Hemmings, Carmen Thomas, Karen Aim; the deaths of the Kahui twins, the Edgeware Rd murders, the Christchurch House of Horrors and the massacres at Raurimu and Aramoana.
Last year, the podcast published a three-part special covered the case of rich lister and philanthropist James Wallace, who was convicted of sexually assaulting three men and was jailed and had his knighthood stripped from him as a result.
And to mark the 30th anniversary of the Bain family murders, Leask produced a two-part special reflecting on the atrocious loss of life and legal saga that followed.
A Moment in Crime is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released monthly.
The series is written and hosted by Leask – who specialises in crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 19 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime.
If you have a crime or case you would like to hear more about, email anna.leask@nzme.co.nz.
Since 2019, A Moment in Crime has produced more than 55 episodes and has been downloaded over 1 million times, with listeners in over 170 countries. It was nominated for Best True Crime Podcast at the 2024 Radio and Podcast Awards.
He fired a shot which flew past the son's head and through the TV.