NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Psychotic killer who murdered girl is freed without spending a day in jail

NZ Herald
17 Apr, 2018 04:48 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Psychotic killer found not guilty due to 'mental illness'. / 7 News

Chloe Hoson was only five years old when her neighbour strangled her to death, wrapped plastic bags over her head and dumped her near a creek.

Now, her killer has been freed after spending no time in jail.

Tim Kosowicz, who murdered the young girl, has been released from a mental facility.

Chloe's family have been left furious that 15 years after her death they were not told their daughter's killer would be able to walk free on the streets without supervision, according to 7 News.

Chloe Hoson was strangled, suffocated with plastic bags and her body dumped near a creek when she was five years old.
Chloe Hoson was strangled, suffocated with plastic bags and her body dumped near a creek when she was five years old.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Kosowicz is schizophrenic, who had previously been released from a psychiatric hospital before the murder - he also used cannabis which triggered psychotic episodes.

He told police of the November 2003 day Chloe came with him to his caravan in Lansvale, in Sydney's south west, to play with his cat — but said he "lost the plot" when she dropped his pot on the ground, reports news.com.au.

"Then I blacked out and next thing I was strangling her in my bedroom." When she wouldn't die he tied two plastic bags over her head until she stopped moving, indecently assaulted her, bound her hands and feet, and put her in a plastic bag.

He was found not guilty of murder due to mental illness — the effects of his schizophrenia meant he did not know what he was doing was wrong, the NSW Supreme Court found.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Kosowicz on a recent shopping trip with his mother in Victoria. Photo / 7 News
Kosowicz on a recent shopping trip with his mother in Victoria. Photo / 7 News

Released but without supervision, Kosowicz recently flew to Melbourne from Sydney for a week-long holiday with his parents in Victoria, Australia.

His mother is confident that everything is under control, with special phone numbers saved to her mobile if he became violent again, 7 News reports.

"If I can't get to the phone in time, I'll knock him out myself," Colleen Kosowicz admitted.

She told 7 News she believed the system was "safe" and the she will take responsibility for her son's supervision.

When Kosowicz's mother was asked what she would say to Chloe's mother given the chance, Colleen said: "Honestly, I don't know. I can say, I'm so sorry."

Kosowicz is now back in hospital, but is free to leave at anytime to go anywhere he pleases.

The decision of finding Kosowicz not guilty was slammed as unjust by Chloe's father Michael Hoson at the time, news.com.au reports.

"Well they (should) change the system for starters regardless of whether you're sane, insane, whatever, you do the crime you do the time," he said after Kosowicz was locked up in Long Bay prison hospital.

It is killers like Kosowicz who are among hundreds of deranged people whose details are being suppressed because they are in the care of the behind-closed-doors Mental Health Review Tribunal.

To add to the anonymity they already enjoy, an alarming option being considered by the NSW Law Commission is for police not to be told when forensic patients are released into the community.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Timothy Kosowicz filmed with his mother in Victoria. Photo / 7 News
Timothy Kosowicz filmed with his mother in Victoria. Photo / 7 News

The Daily Telegraph revealed the proposal would mean government agencies would share the ­information "by agreement" with the police, but only the ­Attorney-General and Health Minister automatically notified.

If adopted, the proposal would dramatically extend the privacy rights of offenders.

NSW Police Association's Scott Weber told news.com.au an important part of an offender's rehabilitation was making sure they abided by their parole or release conditions, which was a "normal thing for police" to do.

However, that was impossible when police didn't know who was being let out into the community. "It really is policing 101 for officers to know what offenders are being released."

Peter Rolfe, president of victims group Support After Murder, told news.com.au the thought violent criminals who have taken lives could be released quietly into the community was an insult to victims.

"It's offensive to them and of course many would find it scary to know they were out."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rolfe said the proposal that police wouldn't be automatically notified was just another example of victims rights being ignored.

"Victims have no rights under the legal system."

He accused the Mental Health Review Tribunal of being a "law unto themselves".

A spokesman for NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said the report would be taken to Cabinet after it was "carefully considered".

- additional reporting news.com.au

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

11 Jul 09:06 AM
World

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM
World

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

11 Jul 09:06 AM

Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza received casualties after firing near an aid point.

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM
Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM
US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP