Revealed: How David Bain's double-murdering groomsman Paul Wilson 'duped' the prison system

Paul Tainui, previously Paul Wilson.
Paul Tainui, previously Paul Wilson. Photo credit: Newshub

The loved ones of a young woman brutally murdered by Paul Wilson 24 years before he committed a second killing warned parole officers the "monster" would kill again.

They say he manipulated the prison system and should have never been let free. 

Paul Russell Wilson, now known as Paul Pounamu Tainui, brutally murdered Kimberly Schroder on the West Coast in 1994. He served his time and 24 years later in April last year he murdered and raped Nicole Tuxford in her Merivale home. 

Suppressions were lifted when the 55-year-old pleaded guilty to the rape of 27-year-old Ms Tuxford at the Christchurch High Court on Wednesday. 

In October he admitted to her cruel murder.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the cruel 1994 murder of Ms Schroder, though on appeal that was reduced to 13 years.

Wilson served his 15 years and was released on parole in 2011, where three years later he made national headlines again as a groomsman at the wedding of his former cellmate, David Bain.

Wilson appeared before the Parole Board five times before being approved for release in December 2010, and let out on January 2011.

Ms Schroder's family argued for years against his release, believing he would kill again.

Both killings were jealousy-fuelled and he killed the women in the same way cutting their throats. 

Nicole Tuxford was found dead at her Merivale home in April last year.
Nicole Tuxford was found dead at her Merivale home in April last year. Photo credit: Supplied

'Wilson remains a threat' 

 

In 2007, at his first parole hearing, he was denied parole. The Board was concerned although he had numerous counselling sessions he had not addressed essential aspects of his offending, specifically the sexual aspects.

The Board's decision states Ms Schroder's murder was 'particularly nasty' quoting sentencing judge, Judge Williamson, who said the method of killing was forceful and deliberately designed to end her life.

"The features of your offence which in my view do make it exceptional, are the degree of planning, the immobilising of the victim's flatmate, the cruel treatment, and the nature of torture of the victim by refusing her medical treatment for wounds to her hands, and by callously cutting off her jeans and pants when she complained of cold: and the act of having sexual intercourse with her while she was in that condition and obviously fearing for her life.

"It was not an ill-directed stabbing which appears to have cut her right open but rather, an intentional cutting of her throat. The events which you yourself recounted to the court in Greymouth were chilling."

At his trial, Wilson said he 'made love' to Ms Schroder and was never charged or convicted of her rape. 

However, in his second parole hearing in 2008, it is noted he accepted he forced Ms Schroder to have sex with him where he used the word rape to describe the act.

In a 2007 submission to the Parole Board, Ms Schroder's parents Gary and Nancy wrote "she [Kimberley] was tortured and raped for what we believe to have been up to two hours prior to her fateful death in her own home.

"We found out after the murder, Wilson stalked our daughter for a number of weeks."

He bound and gagged her flatmate, threatening him to stay quiet while he was forced to listen to Ms Schroder's torture.

Another submission made by the former policeman, the then officer in charge of Ms Schroder's death, Rob Nicholl, says "my trepidation is based on the premise that at this time, Wilson remains a threat, if not to the Schroder's or my family then at least to the community at large".

Only months before Ms Schroder's murder, Wilson entered the Railway Hotel in Hokitika with a loaded, double barrel shotgun. He began threatening her, pointed the gun at her but misfired.

He served five months of a ten-month sentence for this. 

Mr Nicholl says it can only be regarded as 'good luck' he didn't end up facing a murder charge at that time. 

"I have grave concerns that unless this is addressed [he gets treatment] the next and subsequent women that he may enter into relationships with may be in equal danger to Kimberley should they choose to reject his advances," his submission reads.  

Paul Tainui, previously Paul Wilson at court in October when he admitted to murdering Nicole Tuxford.
Paul Tainui, previously Paul Wilson at court in October when he admitted to murdering Nicole Tuxford. Photo credit: Newshub

'An excellent prisoner'

 

While in prison Wilson had 'glowing' psychological reports following a number of counselling sessions with a psychologist. 

However, each time he appeared for parole before his 2011 release, it was denied, as the Board believed he needed further psychological assessments.

In 2008, the Parole Board described him as well-behaved and "an excellent prisoner" and in many ways was on "a very serious path to release". 

Yet the board drew to the fact there had been a number of psychological interventions where although he had good reports, aspects of his offending and the appalling consequences to his victim did not resonate.

In 2009, the Board decision states the psychologist who prepared the latest psychological assessment report endorsed the opinion of the two previous reports that Wilson posed a low risk of further violent or general re-offending. 

In his view, Wilson had gone as far as he should in individual therapy and any more would be counterproductive. 

Any further offending, if it were to occur, would most likely be in the context of relationship difficulties leading to an escalation in his attempts to influence or control his partner, the psychologist says.

In June 2010, the Board asked for Wilson to be assessed on the PCL-R checklist, a tool that determines a person's psychopathic habits. The test ruled out he displayed psychopathic personality traits. 

And in December that year, the Board concluded Wilson was aware of his high-risk situations and had appropriate strategies to address them. They saw no reason for his low risk of re-offending to change and he was granted parole.

Within his first five years of parole he had strict conditions he had to adhere too. He also had two special conditions imposed for life that he never visit the West Coast of the South Island and that he had no contact with the victims of the offending, trial witnesses directly or indirectly unless granted written approval from his probation officer.

Rob Nicoll, the then officer in charge if Kimberly Schroder's case.
Rob Nicoll, the then officer in charge if Kimberly Schroder's case. Photo credit: Newshub

'He is a monster'

 

Mr Nicoll believes Wilson's actions were at the "top end of the scale in terms of its brutality".

He told Newshub how he had been dumped and began stalking Ms Schroder.

"He returned to the house one evening, tricked his way into the house through the flatmate, made some lame excuses for remaining there then confronted the flatmate and held a knife to his throat," Mr Nicoll says.

He made him crawl to a bedroom, tied him up, taped him and threatened to kill him if he made noise or warned Ms Schroder in any way. 

Wilson stayed in the house, waiting for her to come home. 

"Kim arrived home. He eventually confronted her, and that's when he slashed her with a knife and gave her a very very serious injury to her hand. He then (didn't know at the time), took her to the bedroom and must have raped her, and killed her.  Which order we don't know.  He then cleaned the place up and left."

Forensic examination gave no evidence Ms Schroder had been raped. Police only had Wilson's evidence in his own trial where he made the "preposterous suggestion that him and Kim had made love," Mr Nicoll told Newshub.

"To think that somebody in that condition would then willingly consent to sex with the person who'd just attacked her is just preposterous.

"Plainly in those circumstances it couldn't have been consensual sex."

This was recognised both judges in his trial and appeal, however the Crown decided nothing would be gained by pursuing the rape conviction as he'd already been sentenced to life for murder.

Mr Nicoll says Wilson was obsessed with Ms Schroder. 

"He was obsessive and anyone he entered a relationship with was in every likelihood going to be equally at risk as Kim was.

"The family recognised that better than anyone and they've said consistently over the years at each of his parole hearings that he will offend again."

He believes Wilson could be described as a "pathological killer". 

"To have killed Kim, eventually expressing remorse - and that took him many years to do - and then to do it again, he's basically a monster isn't he?

"I'm not the expert on what a pathological killer is. But he's killed twice. He's done something that few other murderers in New Zealand have done. So he is a monster. To take two innocent girls' lives as he has."

'He pulled the wool over their eyes'

 

Mr Nicoll believes Wilson duped his way through prison. He was compliant with the prison system and made psychologists believe he was a model prisoner. 

"If he was a model prisoner then he wasn't involved in fights, he was compliant in the prison system. When he sat down he spoke politely and everyone thought he was of no threat."

The family recognised the different person he really was and saw the potential he had to kill again, which is why they consistently fought so hard to keep him in prison.

"He pulled the wool over their eyes. With the very best intentions, the professionals can be fooled too.

"When you have a person sitting before you who is ticking all the right boxes and saying all the right things, the best experts can be fooled."

In hindsight Wilson should not have been released, but having manipulated the system for so long, it's very difficult to be critical of the people who've dealt with him over the years, including the Parole Board, Mr Nicoll says.

He says if there is any lesson to be learnt from Wilson, professionals could give more weight to what lay people who really know the offender may say about them.

"In this case, the Schroder family and Kim's close friends saw something in Wilson that nobody else saw, and they consistently said he will kill again.  And they're the only ones that were actually right.  They realised what his true character was."

Rejection - his trigger 

 

In relation to Ms Schroder's death, she rejected Wilson.

"I don't know enough about his current victim but I understand there's an element of rejection there too, so he's somebody who doesn't like being told by a young lady that 'you're not good enough, I don't want anything to do with you,'" Mr Nicoll says.

Ms Tuxford, known as 'Nicky', was found dead at her Merivale home on April 7 last year.

She was an accounts manager for an international logistics company based in Christchurch, was highly thought of and considered to have a bright future with the company.

Born and bred in Dunedin, she moved to Christchurch to pursue her professional career after she finished high school.

According to the Crown's summary of facts, Wilson, now Tainui, wanted a sexual relationship with Ms Tuxford. 

The pair met professionally and socialised in similar circles.

In the days leading up to her death, she invited him to her house but made it clear she in no way wanted a relationship.

When he found out she was in a relationship with another man he sent her multiple texts, to which she didn't reply. 

He taxied to Ms Tuxford's house, broke into her home and waited eight hours for her return.

On the morning of April 7, Ms Tuxford returned home to meet the electrician and was confronted by Wilson. She tried to fight him off and suffered cuts to her hand.

She bit him and he punched her in the face. Neighbours heard her screams as he overpowered her.

At the same time, the electrician was outside the house, knocking on the spare bedroom window to see if anyone was home.

Wilson put a scarf in Ms Tuxford's mouth, knotting it behind her head and taping her head and mouth.

The electrician heard muffled noises and continued to walk around the outside of the house, calling out. He put up a ladder outside, inspected junction boxes, then left. 

Wilson strangled her, cutting her throat so deep it almost severed her head. He then covered her body with her trousers and his jacket, and took off in her car. 

The electrician returned to the home, broke in through a window out of concern and found Ms Tuxford's body and called police. 

Three days after Ms Tuxford's death, Ms Schroder's father, Gary, who had terminal cancer, died in a suspected suicide at his home in Kaniere.

"Gary was just a good down to earth guy, well liked, a nice man, and devastated, as Nancy was, at the loss of Kim. It's not something any parent should have to go through," Mr Nicoll says.

He believes Mr Schroder's death is the fault of Wilson. 

"It compounded what Wilson had done, that he had then driven this good man to take his own life.  The blame can't sit with anyone other than Wilson. The fact that Wilson murdered again is without a doubt a major contributing factor to Gary taking his life," Mr Nicoll says.

"He's undoubtedly got three victims out there. Two with his name planted firmly on, and with Gary, any father who'd been saying this man should be kept in custody, to have him then kill again."

Wilson's release was inevitable at some stage and the family did everything they could to ensure he remained in custody for the longest period of time possible, Mr Nicoll says.

"I don't think there's anyone in New Zealand who would ever want him released again. He's earned his place."

Jenny Keogan was a friend of both Kimberley Schroder and Paul Wilson, now Tainui.
Jenny Keogan was a friend of both Kimberley Schroder and Paul Wilson, now Tainui. Photo credit: Newshub

'Just a bad break-up'

 

Jenny Keogan was a friend of both Ms Schroder and Wilson and worked with Ms Schroder's parents to fight to keep Wilson in prison. 

"We were very clear in our message to the Parole Board, that if Wilson was to be released, he would kill again," she told Newshub.

"Someone else's life would be taken. And that's exactly what's happened."

She too blames Wilson for the death of Mr Schroder and now thinks of Wilson as 'evil'. 

"He is a good part of the reason that we don't have Gary with us as well. He's killed three people - but he's destroyed a lot more lives than that."

Wilson and Ms Schroder had been in a relation but weren't at the time of her death. 

Ms Keogan says she was trying to help Wilson through what she believed was simply a bad breakup.

"We genuinely believed with counselling he would get through it, we would get him through it.

"Never in a million years did I ever think that he was at all capable of physically following through and murdering her," she says.

"To find out he'd done it again, and at that point I already believed it would have been similar circumstances the way she died. We knew that this poor Tuxford family were about to head down the same path that the Schroder family had done all those years ago."

Ms Keogan questions the justice system and how people such as Wilson are eligible for parole. 

"I'm sorry, but life should be life. And in an instant like this where he did what he did, it was a horrendous murder that he did in the first place, then to become eligible for parole and all the way through still not show any remorse, and yet be able to be back out in our community again... For him to have done what he did, why was he even let out.  He should never have been let out of jail. He absolutely should never have been let out of jail."

Ms Keogan believes he is capable of killing again and had he not been released on parole Ms Tuxford and Mr Schroder may still be alive. 

Wilson has been remanded in custody for sentencing on March 28. 

The longest imprisonment sentence in New Zealand is 30 years, currently being served by William Dwane Bell who killed three people and seriously injured another in an armed robbery at the Panmure RSA clubrooms in 2001. 

No person in New Zealand has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 

The chairman of the New Zealand Parole Board Sir Ron Young said in a statement on Wednesday the board extends its sympathy to both the Tuxford and Schroder families. 

An independent review of the Board's involvement with Wilson in the lead-up to his release has been commissioned. 

"Reoffending like this is both extremely rare and deeply concerning to me as the board's chairperson," Sir Young says.

Newshub.