WINZ shooter to serve at least 27 years

Ashburton WINZ double-murderer Russell John Tully has been jailed for 27 years as part of his life jail term – one of the longest sentences imposed in New Zealand.

Justice Cameron Mander described Tully at the sentencing in the High Court at Christchurch as “a very dangerous man”.

He said that he believed there would likely have been more fatalities at the office on September 1, 2014, if other staff had not been able to flee or had not been away from work at the time.

Tully, 50, had disguised himself and gone to the office with a shotgun intending shoot staff for a sense of grievance he had development over his feeling that he had been unfairly treated over several months.

He had been trespassed from the office.

In the lead-up to moving to Ashburton and coming into contact with the WINZ office, Tully had been a user of methamphetamine, cannabis, synthetic cannabis, and a heavy user of alcohol.

Justice Mander described the effects of the offending on the family and friends of victims, and noted it was apparent that Tully “didn’t much care”.

The shootings had been cold-blooded executions, and had been particularly callous and brutal, involving vulnerable victims.

He said Tully had considerable intelligence. He had limited mental health issues and unusual personality traits. He had to be regarded as a high risk of harming others, had no regard for the sanctity of human life. His prognosis for rehabilitation was poor.

Tully was being sentenced in the courtroom where he was convicted at the end of a three week trial in February and March of the shotgun murders of WINZ receptionist Peggy Turuhira Noble and case worker Susan Leigh Cleveland. He was found not guilty of the attempted murder of another staff member he wounded with a shot in the thigh.

He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Kim Elizabeth Adams, another staff member he fired at with the shotgun but missed as she escaped out a back door to the offices.

He was convicted of unlawful possession of two shotguns after the police manhunt located him hiding in a hedge near Ashburton on the day of the killings in September 2014.

Tully was present for only a few days of his trial, because he twice disrupted proceedings by continuously shouting down the judge and preventing any progress being made.

He was on a hunger strike during the first part of the trial, but returned to court when he began eating again and stayed calmly in the trial during its last stages, and during the announcement of the jury’s verdicts.

The hearing began today with a session in chambers with lawyers and 49-year-old Tully, and then began in open court with the reading of victim impact statements by five people.

Ashburton WINZ double-murderer Russell John Tully was called “an evil man” as the sentencing got under way.

WINZ worker Leigh-Ann Hydes read her victim impact statement and told Tully he was an evil man with an overrated sense of self-importance, who had decided the staff were responsible for his position.

He was a game player, she told the crowded court. “He is an extremely clever man who has manipulated us and the justice system.”

She hoped he would never be able to walk “in any community again”, she said.

She said she had been been badly affected by the gruesome scene at the WINZ offices, while she sat on the floor tending to a wounded colleague. She spoke of overwhelming relief when police arrived and there was someone there to help.

She had not known for more than hour whether two other woman colleagues had lived. The women in the office were all friends – a tight knit work family. She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jane Hayman said she had believed she was going to die on the day of the shootings. She had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety afterwards, and had found the multiple trial delays “very challenging”.

Kim Adams said she was thankful to be alive after being shot at by Tully and recalled running in terror. She now found herself worrying about people at work, or outside work. “I can never forget the day a person I tried to help tried to end my life.”

Alison Kermode said she had been close friends with Peggy Noble, who had been referred to as “Nanna” by children, and who would have turned 70 this year.

Krystal Bishop, Peggy Noble’s granddaughter, described her as “a strong woman with a generous heart” who had been killed in merciless circumstances. Family members were devastated that they never had a chance to say goodbye.

The Crown had asked for a 33-year minimum non-parole term as part of the life sentence for Tully.

Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae described the 2014 killings as “cold blooded and calculated” as he argued for the long jail term.

He said Tully had entered the WINZ office “purposely and methodically”, and he had gone there after making careful preparations, and with a “hit list”.

There was cruelty in the shooting of one of the office workers who could be heard pleading for her life before Tully shot her twice more.

His shooting rampage which lasted 61 seconds, in which he fired six shots, was caught on security camera footage.

Mr McRae said Tully had gone there to shoot as many people as he could.

Amicus curiae (friend of the court) for Tully, James Rapley, said the key question was the length of the non-parole term. He said the court should adopted 23 to 25 years as a starting point in deciding the sentence. The court should take into account Tully’s “personality problems” as part his mental state – although he had not been found to be insane – in determining the sentence.

He had been diagnosed as displaying a personality disturbance with anti-social and narcissistice features. He was seen as having a grandiose sense of entitlement, particularly for medical care.

Tully said there had been a major cover-up by the Crown about disclosure and evidence. It was clear he was not in the correct frame of mind at the time. He challenged the correctness of his mental health assessments done ahead of the trial. The Crown had hidden evidence that he had been suffering from a mental disorder, he alleged.

Tags: Ashburton, attempted murder, murder, Russell John Tully, WINZ

Category: News