A violent kidnapper who has spent most of the past decade behind bars accepts he may have to serve his entire sentence without parole.
Nathan Boulter, 32, made headlines in 2012 when he was jailed for eight and a-half years after taking his former partner captive and travelling from Southland all the way to Great Barrier Island.
The kidnap sparked a massive search effort, with locals and police fanning across the island to find the pair.
The 2012 trial heard that Boulter travelled to Auckland from Riverton before booking a one-way ferry ticket to Great Barrier Island using the false name Travis Tetoski.
Once on the island Boulter made his way to Montgomerie's family home where she and her new partner, Michael Stewart, were babysitting her 7-year-old brother and his friend.
Boulter hid under the bed before and waited until the couple went to bed.
He then attacked Stewart and knocked him out. Stewart was left with a fractured skull.
Montgomerie ran screaming from the bedroom but Boulter caught her by her hair and dangled her over the balcony.
Police and members of the local community took part in a massive search for Nortessa Montgomerie. Photo / Natalie Slade
He grabbed a weed grubber and threatened her with it before kidnapping her and dragging her across farmland.
Boulter hid Montgomerie in isolated bush and dragged her around the island to avoid the police manhunt.
Boulter also told her he had killed her younger brother and her brother's friend.
At one point he took her behind a barn and strangled her. He told her: "You scream for help and you are dead''.
Montgomerie's ordeal lasted 38 hours before searchers found them.
Nortessa Montgomerie (centre) leaves the High Court at Auckland after Nathan Boulter was sentenced to eight and-a-half years for her beating, kidnapping, and strangling. Photo / Richard Robinson
At a Parole Board hearing in September, the man was declined early release amid concerns about his "emotional stability and insight".
Boulter is currently serving a sentence of three years two months at the Otago Corrections Facility stemming from two sets of offences.
In July last year, he was locked up for stalking a woman he knew through a mutual friend.
Boulter was visiting her home and taking photos and on one day, he called the victim 300 times and left more than 100 voicemail messages.
When he was back behind bars, his menacing behaviour continued.
While speaking to a prison officer about obscuring the camera in his cell, Boulter talked about his eventual release.
"He said he was going to go back to Invercargill to strangle his ex-partner and ... once he has strangled her he can get on with his life," a police summary said.
The officer tried to dissuade Boulter but he re-emphasised his intentions at least three times.
Nathan Boulter was jailed for eight and a-half years in 2012. Photo / File
A report before Parole Board panel convener Judge David Mather raised "serious concerns" about the prisoner's risk level.
That was exemplified by a meeting Boulter had with a psychologist in March.
The board heard the interview had to be terminated because of his threatening demeanour.
"The psychologist identified an array of unmet treatment needs," Judge Mather said.
"To his credit, Mr Boulter accepted that he has a range of deep-seated issues which need to be addressed. He is unsure how long that will take and acknowledged the possibility that he may need to serve his entire sentence."
The sentence would expire in April 2023.
Boulter's next meeting with the Parole Board will take place in June next year.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - DO YOU NEED HELP?
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
