Shiloh Rickard, 63, refused to appear before the Parole Board at his first scheduled hearing recently, declined to be interviewed by psychologists and has done no rehabilitative programmes during his lengthy jail stint.
After fatally stabbing his 25-year-old partner Vicki Jane Telfer in her Dunedin home in July 2007, Rickard initially claimed she had caused her own injuries to prove her love for him.
Although he pleaded guilty 11 months later, he refused to provide an explanation for the brutal attack.
And after 17 years, it appears, little has changed.
"He said that he would not engage in treatment programmes and has maintained that stance throughout his sentence. There are very few prison records of any visits or any telephone contact. He has either expressly declined or very rapidly withdrawn from any form of rehabilitation," board chairman Sir Ron Young said.
"It is very difficult for us to understand Mr Rickard’s point of view if he does not come to the board and explain it."
Ms Telfer’s sister Amy told the Otago Daily Times it was disappointing to hear he had made so little effort in prison but she was comforted by the fact he would be locked up for the foreseeable future.
"Without any rehabilitation I don’t see how he can enter the everyday world without reoffending," she said.
At Rickard’s sentencing in 2008, the High Court at Dunedin heard he had argued with Vicki Telfer, then, when she asked him to leave the home she shared with her 19-month-old daughter, attacked her with a small chef’s knife he had brought to the address.
The victim’s sister Lisa intervened and also sustained injuries.
When the knife broke, Rickard found another and continued the attack.
Lisa Telfer later said she was haunted by the image of her sister standing naked and bleeding at the end of her bed.
A 36-hour manhunt for the killer followed.
Rickard was eventually found by a group of students sleeping in a shed beside their flat and they were able to direct armed offenders squad officers to his hiding spot after chasing him.
A friend of the killer later told the ODT Rickard had moved to Dunedin to escape gang connections in the North Island and had changed his name from Matthew Te Anini.
The Parole Board heard the murderer had a history of violence towards women and had previously done jail time for burglaries.
Reports from within the prison system failed to shed light on Rickard’s stoic attitude.
"When these issues are discussed, he appears to somewhat go round in circles, and it can be difficult to understand exactly what his view is," the board heard.
Sir Ron noted there had been instances of Rickard behaving aggressively during his earlier years behind bars but he had not been formally reprimanded since 2010.
He requested a lawyer contact the prisoner before his next parole hearing in January.
"The purpose of that is so that we can understand Mr Rickard’s point of view, and so we can identify working with him on a way forward," Sir Ron said.
"It is not for the purpose of a release on parole at that stage."
Timeline
July 14, 2007: Shiloh Rickard stabs his partner Vicki Telfer to death and attacks her sister.
July 15: 36-hour manhunt ends when students find the fugitive sleeping in their shed and call police.
November 14: Rickard pleads not guilty at a depositions hearing.
June 6, 2008: Rickard pleads guilty to murder, and injuring Ms Telfer’s sister.
June 27, 2008: Jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
July 25, 2024: Rickard declines to attend his first parole hearing.
January 2025: Second parole hearing to take place.
