Double murderer Tamihere in parole bid

David Tamihere. File photo / NZ Herald

David Tamihere, sentenced to life imprisonment 20 years ago for killing two Swedish tourists, will make a bid for freedom today.

Tamihere is scheduled to appear in front of the Parole Board at Paremoremo Prison, north of Auckland.

A written report following his last parole hearing showed he had quite serious health problems.

Tamihere was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990 for the murders of Urban Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen in the Coromandel in 1989.

He had skipped bail for a 1986 rape and was on the run when the murders were committed, and had a manslaughter conviction for the 1972 death of an Auckland prostitute.

He has maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment and made a number of appeals against the conviction.

Mr Hoglin's body was found by pig hunters in Coromandel bush two years after he went missing but Ms Paakkonen's body was never found.

An article in Investigate magazine last week suggested Ms Paakkonen was still alive when police began searching for her, and in the company of a man who was not Tamihere.

However, Mr Hoglin's brother Stefan Hoglin told the Sunday Star-Times he considered the article's claims absurd.

- NZPA