Cardno killer too dangerous to be freed decides board

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The man who kidnapped, tortured and brutally murdered Lower Hutt schoolgirl Karla Cardno will remain in jail for at least three more years.

Paul Joseph Dally has already served 20 years of a life sentence but the Parole Board considers him too dangerous to be freed.

In its latest decision, issued yesterday, the board took the extra step of making a three-year postponement order, meaning Dally will not be eligible for parole again until 2013 except in exceptional circumstances. He had not even begun to rehabilitate, the board said.

Dally kidnapped 13-year-old Karla in May 1989 as she cycled to her Lower Hutt home. He then raped and tortured her in his nearby home, watching from the window as her frantic family searched outside.

Later he drove to the Pencarrow Coast, near Eastbourne, where he smashed her skull with a piece of driftwood and buried her face-down, naked and still alive, with her hands bound. Her body was found several weeks later.

The decision quoted a "chilling" psychological assessment given to the board, saying Dally showed "a high degree of relationship to serious and violent recidivism".

Dally's dismissal of his offence as "ancient history" was "extremely problematic", the assessor said.

"In the final analysis I am not entirely confident that the underlying motives for Mr Dally's offending have been laid bare."

Dally chose not to appear at his parole hearing.

His lawyer said he was frustrated at prison authorities stopping further rehabilitation and not allowing him to attend self-care units that had previously been recommended by the board.

However, the board reversed that recommendation, saying it was "not at all convinced that [Dally] has yet dealt with the appalling offending which brought him to prison".

He would need several more years in prison before he even showed signs of rehabilitating or reintegrating.

Karla's father, Gary Duffin, was jailed for eight years in January for the historic rape of a 14-year-old girl in 1991.

Karla's other relatives could not be contacted yesterday.

However, in a letter to the Parole Board her family raised "significant" concerns about Dally's release.

The letter contained "very clear information ... about the devastation to others' lives as a result of what he did [and] the concern that he had done nothing significant to change his behaviour".

The decision said: "Not only would there be fears for the safety of the immediate family of the deceased but there would be a strongly held fear that the safety of others would be compromised."

- © Fairfax NZ News