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A High Court judge who released a killer on bail after two other judges refused said the fact that the man faced a serious charge and there was a strong case against him was not enough to justify keeping him in custody.
Judge Mark Cooper also dismissed witnesses' concerns about their safety if Michael Curran, who murdered 2-year-old Aaliyah Morrissey while on bail for killing 24-year-old Natasha Hayden, was granted bail.
Curran had 22 criminal convictions by the time he killed Mrs Hayden in January 2005, including two for indecent assault on a girl under 12.
Justice Cooper's decision had been suppressed but the order was lifted when Curran was found guilty of Aaliyah's murder on Friday, more than two years after Curran was granted bail in Mrs Hayden's case.
The Herald can now reveal that Justice Cooper agreed that the Crown had a strong case against Curran, but said "a proper evidential foundation" was needed to justify his continued prison remand.
"It is, of course, not enough that there be a serious charge and a strong case in support of it," the judge said.
The 28-year-old had also been tried for a toilet-block rape in 2002 and, though acquitted, was convicted of two charges of perverting the course of justice after he convinced his sister and her boyfriend to provide a false alibi for him.
Police opposed bail after he was charged with Mrs Hayden's murder in January 2005, fearing Curran would interfere with witnesses based on his record.
District Court Judge Thomas Ingram refused Curran's first application for bail and High Court Justice John Laurenson followed suit a few weeks later, saying the principal reason was the risk that he would interfere with witnesses.
Curran began a second appeal for bail after a depositions hearing in June and this time, before Justice Cooper, he succeeded.
Justice Cooper found no significant risk that Curran would fail to appear in court and said the Crown had made no submissions about the risk of offending on bail, other than indirectly, through interference with witnesses.
He dismissed as "short on detail and specifics" a police affidavit which referred to Curran's criminal history and witnesses' concerns for their safety if he was bailed.
Justice Cooper believed Curran's one instance of attempting to pervert the course of justice did not indicate a risk of repeating such conduct, and he ruled the length of time Curran would be in custody before trial was also relevant.
At that stage, Curran was charged with Mrs Hayden's murder and the trial was set for February last year, meaning he would have been behind bars for more than a year.
The trial eventually went ahead in May last year after Curran admitted killing Mrs Hayden, but denied doing so intentionally, and the charge was reduced to manslaughter.
Justice Cooper bailed Curran to live at a Tauranga house with his wife and children while still facing the murder charge, giving him a 24-hour curfew and banning him from using mobile phones or contacting witnesses.
Aaliyah's family lived two doors down and befriended Curran and his wife before Curran bashed Aaliyah to death at his house on September 13, 2005, just over two months after Justice Cooper's July 7 decision.
Chief High Court judge Tony Randerson earlier refused to allow publication of the decision on the basis it would jeopardise Curran's right to a fair trial in Aaliyah's case.
Natasha Hayden's parents had tried to get access to a written copy of the decision, but Justice Randerson would only allow them to view it if they did not reveal the contents to others.
They refused and now three of 33 sections in the 10-page decision remain suppressed.
Justice Graham Lang, who presided over Curran's trial last week, said those sections contained "sensitive material" relating to a relative of Curran and it was inappropriate for the information to be published when it had not been canvassed at trial.