A convicted accessory after the fact to Michael Hutchings' murder may be released on parole this week, little more than two months after her October sentencing and almost a year since she was arrested.
Murderer Wayne Patterson (38) and Nichole Field (30) were named yesterday after a rape charge against the pair was withdrawn.
They had name suppression because of possible prejudice.
On discovering Field may be released within days, having served a year of a two-year sentence, Miss Hutchings was left angry, bewildered, and with a total lack of faith in the justice system.
Speaking from Alexandra last night, Miss Hutchings said something had to be done to rectify the situation and prevent it from happening again.
"I want this to be my chance to change things. I want to tell people that this is crap, and I have been let down, over and over again, by the whole system.
"My family and I were let down and blown away by the sentencing and now we are being let down by the Parole Board. I'm so angry and upset about the whole thing," she said.
Field was sentenced to two years in jail after a charge of murder was reduced to being an accessory.
Patterson was jailed for a minimum of 13 years.
Miss Hutchings believed Field's involvement had been greater than had been proved (which Field denied).
Despite being on the Victim Notification Register, Miss Hutchings and her parents, who now live in Australia, were informed of Field's parole by calls from media yesterday.
"I had absolutely no warning that this was going to happen. I have received no official information from the Parole Board, from police, or from any other court or justice department."
The news could not have come at a worse time for the Hutchings, dealing with the first anniversary of the murder.
"The timing is just unbelievable. Because [Field and Patterson] lied the entire time, we don't even know whether Michael was killed on the 7th or 8th [of January] and have to live through both dates.
"This time, with all the anniversaries, is the biggest hurdle to get over after the initial incident, and now we have to deal with [Field] getting out at the same time," she said.
Miss Hutchings urged the Government to stand by its promises and to look into the Field case.
"The new Government is talking about how they are going to fix up home detention and parole - well, this is happening right now in front of their faces."
One year seemed pitiful when the Hutchings family had a life sentence to deal with, she said.
With plans to attend university in Dunedin after spending the summer fruit picking in Alexandra, Miss Hutchings wanted 2009 to be a year of healing.
"Instead, 12 days in and this has happened."
- Any prisoner sentenced to less than two years has their release handled by the Department of Corrections and not the Parole Board. That means that the Hutchings family did not have to be informed about Field's release.
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In a statement issued to the Otago Daily Times, a department spokesman said Field would be required to comply with the standard conditions laid down for all offenders sentenced to between 12 and 24 months.
These include having to regularly report to a probation officer, and restrictions on where she can live, work and with whom she can associate.
No further details were provided.
The department confirmed the sentencing judge last October set no special conditions for Field upon her release.
