The violent life and times of Liam James Reid

Backgrounder, by Anne and David Clarkson

Liam James Reid has been on trial before for abducting a woman, sexually violating her, and attempting to murder her during a session of experimental sex he described as “cool”.

He was acquitted of all those charges in October 2002, but convicted of fraudulently using the victim’s bankcard while he was on the run, when he knew she had gone to the police.

He had a different name then, Julian Heath Edgecombe, which was mentioned during his four week trial on charges of raping and murdering Emma Agnew, and raping, sexually violating, attempting to murder, and robbing another woman in Dunedin.

The Dunedin woman told of being attacked in the street by a man who put a rope around her neck and choked her during the rape.

Emma Agnew was found near Spencer Park, naked and choked to death with a sock stuffed into the back of her throat, blocking her airway.

Handcuffing, spanking, and asphxia were part of the sex games Edgecombe admitted playing with the woman he was accused of trying to hang in 2002.

The pair argued and he said that when they were going to have “reconciliation sex” he told her that he needed to protect himself because of the threats she made to have him charged and to harm his daughter.

She then wrote the note. It said she had not been raped and it referred to spanking.

Edgecombe told of then having sex with her involving spaking and asphyxia using a power cord. He denied that he had tried to hang her with a phone cable.

As he did at the murder trial this month, Edgecombe gave evidence in his own defence. He told the court he and the woman had “hard out, furious, fast, deviant, experimental, disgusting sex. It was cool. To us it was normal.”

After the acquittals on all the sex charges, Edgecombe was remanded for sentence on the bank card charge and got a three-month jail term.

His time in prison on remand had been marked with violence.

In November 2002 he admitted attacking two other prison inmates in a frenzied bashing with a broom handle.

He broke the broom handle over one man, who was struck repeatedly. The second victim was bashed over the head when he tried to intervene.

Judge David Holderness referred to Edgcombe’s bad list of previous offending, including violence, and jailed him for 27 months.

He was acquitted in 2003 on a charge of assaulting another inmate with intent to injure – a charge that alleged he had thrown a mug of boiling water in the other man’s face and then punched him 15 times.

Edgecombe also attacked a convicted paedophile in prison. His attack may have left George Darren Cant – in jail for molesting five children at a church camp – eligible for tens of thousands of dollars worth of compensation.

When Edgecombe was cuffed by a prison officer he claimed $40,000 compensation but it was refused in a decision by Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen Erber in July 2005.

Cant would have been eligible to claim any compensation money that Edgecombe had received.

The prison officer lost his job over the incident.

Edgecombe claimed the compensation for “hurt feelings”.

After Judge Erber refused compensation, Justice Minister Phil Goff said: “It vindicates the Government’s judgment that this legislation (the Prisoners and Victims Claims Act) would be effective in stopping golden handshakes for inmates where disciplinary action against an errant prison officer dealt more effectively with the problem.”

During the hearing, there was reference to Edgecombe’s previous convictions for assault, possessing unlicensed firearms, and making threats to kill.

Now the little man with all the tattoos has added convictions for rape, sexual violation, attempted murder and robbery to his record.

He’s begun a life sentence, which may become preventive detention in December.