Scott Watson parole bid: Board hears from experts on risk, psychopathy and ‘throwing faeces’
- Double murderer Scott Watson appeared before the Parole Board yesterday for the sixth time.
- He wants to be released – with conditions.
- Four psychologists spoke about his level of risk – most do not believe release is safe.
Scott Watson has been described as a violent and risky offender with a propensity for “conning and manipulation” and personality traits of being “psychopathic”, shallow and superficial.
And it has been revealed that in the last year, he has been in trouble in prison for fighting and “throwing faeces” at another inmate.
Watson appeared before the Parole Board for the sixth time yesterday, alongside three psychologists, who spoke about whether they thought it would be safe to release him from prison.
Orrrrrrrrrrr, he is behaving the way an innocent person who has been locked up for half his life for a crime he didn’t commit would behave.
The Scott Watson case never sat well with me.
The number of eye witnesses that saw a two masted Ketch.
How the hairs magically appeared in a bag with a hole in it and how that could have been innocently transferred rather than point to murder.
The manner in which the NZ Police manipulated evidence, manipulated witnesses and ignored any evidence that didn’t connect Scott Watson to the disappearance of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope was never explained by the subservient mainstream media at the time so much of this will be new to most NZers.
The use of prison narks used to nail Scott Watson should disgust most NZers, but it probably won’t.
The only reason the NZ police get away with what they do is because the sleepy hobbits of muddle Nu Zilind let them.
Kiwis don’t hate crime as much as they love punishing criminals so the idea that an innocent person has been locked up won’t annoy NZers as much as having to let a person out of jail in the first place.
This is the tiny people we are.
Put aside the enormous questions about the circumstantial evidence, there is a deeper problem with the Scott Watson case that TDB pointed out and that is the concerning involvement of Detective Superintendent Tom Fitzgerald.
As The Daily Blog has been banging on for some time, Fitzgerald’s involvement in creating a controversial police interrogation tactic that generates false confessions is deeply problematic especially after he was caught attempting to cover up his direct involvement in the failed Lois Tolley murder case.
The concerning part about all of this, is that Detective Superintendent Tom Fitzgerald was also involved in the Scott Watson case at a crucial point of that case and makes a claim Watson utterly refutes…
Scott Watson allegedly uttered just two words when police arrived to arrest him: “About time.”
Detective Tom Fitzgerald told the double-murder trial yesterday that Watson made the comment when he came across him in the hallway of his brother’s house in Rangiora on June 15 last year.
Watson said “…. off” when asked to come to the Rangiora police station to talk about New Year’s Eve, 1997.
“We then arrested Mr Watson for the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope and read him his rights,” said Detective Fitzgerald.
After talking to his lawyer by phone, Watson was taken to the police station to be questioned on video about several issues, including the cleaning of his boat, the missing squab covers, the scratches on the forward hatch and the hairs on a blanket.
Detective Fitzgerald said it became obvious that Watson had nothing to say. “He declined to answer.”
He was driven to Christchurch and formally charged with the murders.
Earlier in his evidence, Detective Fitzgerald said Watson had been reluctant to sign a statement on January 12 “because it made him look bad.”
He signed it after Detective Fitzgerald said he should if it was an accurate account.
Watson had said he was wearing a T-shirt and a grey jersey on New Year’s Eve. He returned to Blade about 2 am and was the only occupant of a water taxi driven by an older man in a cap.
He denied knowing Guy Wallace, the water taxi driver the Crown says dropped Watson at his boat with Olivia and Ben.
Watson had said he left Endeavour Inlet about 6.30 or 7 am on January 1 and arrived at Eerie Bay in Tory Channel about 10.30 am, Detective Fitzgerald said.
The Crown says Watson lied in his statements and several hours of his time are unaccounted for.
Detective Fitzgerald asked Watson whether he had ever met Olivia or Ben.
“He replied that he had never seen or spoken to either of them that night, but he would remember talking to Olivia.”
When asked by crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery why Watson would make that comment, Detective Fitzgerald said: “It was obviously a reference to her being an attractive woman.”
When Detective Fitzgerald asked Watson about his obnoxious behaviour towards women at Furneaux Lodge, he replied: “I was just trying to score. What’s wrong with that. It was New Year’s Eve.”
He also said, “You can take my … boat. There’s no blood on it.”
On April 7, 1998, Detective Fitzgerald visited Watson at the home of a family friend. He talked to him later at the Huntly police station.
He told Watson that he understood he was having sleeping problems.
“You are only going to get worse until you get things off your chest, mate,” the policeman said.
Watson replied: “No, I’m fine, mate.”
The friend he stayed with, whose name was suppressed, said Watson moved out of the house and into a sleepout after being told he was screaming in his sleep.
In explanation, Watson told him he often did that when he was tired.
We have a case where no clear evidence convicts a man of murder interviewed and arrested by a Detective who has had to resign after his controversial new interrogation programme has produced false confessions???
The disappearance and probable murder of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope is a unique Kiwi crime. Two fresh faced teens with the World at their feet disappearing suddenly and the firestorm case afterwards is bad enough, that we may have locked up the wrong person would be insult to obscenity
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Agree with the feeling of doubt about rhe case. If he is innocent it is no wonder he is angry
On one hand the judicial system acknowledges that it occasionally makes mistakes.
On the other, it effectively demands, using threats of retribution, that a convicted person declare that the system’s decisions are infallible. It has no shame.
I have little confidence in the judicial system’s ability to get to the truth of matters before it. It is simply structured to deliver decisions and close the cases before it.
Why would he show remorse if he has no reason to feel that way .The only remorse he may be feeling is for being locked up for half of your life for a crime he has not commited .Now bodies were ever found so how can we prove they were ever murdered .For instance it was very easy to leave NZ and go missing in AUS as travel between the two countries was open .For years kiwis would go to north Queensland and work for cash so they were never traceable in the government system over there .
It appears there is a plan just to keep him locked up till such time as he ,out of desperation says he did it .If that never happens he is there for ever .And if at some stage the justice system accepts he did not murder them the government would have to pay him millions in compensation .
Nah – he’s 100 percent guilty and anyone who knew him in Picton (aside from Family) concurs with that.
The one fact the convinces me of his guilt is the saga of the clothes – the mystery man was noted to be wearing jeans and a jean shirt – which Scott Watson was photographed wearing on the night.
Police asked to test the items, but Scott dithered and said he couldn’t find them (although his girlfriend noted it was a favourite shirt).
Was unable to produce them for testing, despite him knowing he was on the hook for a double murder, and that a negative test of his clothes for blood, semen etc would be a strong plank for the defence.
I get it, his eyes are too close together as well.
As a yachty I find it impossible to murder 2 people rafted up to other boats. Esp such a small one
Completely dodgy.
They are keeping him locked up to protect some folk
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