Michael Murray who killed Connor Morris in West Auckland brawl tells Parole Board of release fears
Connor Morris' killer Michael Murray (right) made an appearance before the Parole Board this week.
A man who murdered gang member Connor Morris during a street brawl says he fears how he’ll react if attacked in retribution for the killing, and is not ready to be released into the community.
Convicted killer Michael Murray appeared before the Parole Board this week, where it was revealed he was moving towards a reintegrative part of his sentence, starting with testing out more difficult situations while in prison.
During the hearing, he was asked what new situation he was most worried about.
Murray said being “attacked” because of the “events” of Morris’ death.
Morris was killed in August 2014 after Murray grabbed a sickle-like tool from his West Auckland home as a street fight erupted on the road near his house.
Morris’ partner, Millie Elder-Holmes, was there at the time of his death.
Murray argued he did not intend to hurt or kill Morris and was worried the patched Head Hunter would seriously hurt or kill his 22-year-old brother.
He was found guilty by a jury in 2015 and sentenced to life with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
He later unsuccessfully appealed the conviction, his lawyer arguing that media interest in the death of Morris, because his partner was the daughter of the late broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes, led to an unfair trial.
Eligible for parole
In 2024, Murray became eligible for parole and appeared before the board for the first time.
On Thursday he appeared before them for a second time, saying over the past year he had learned new psychotherapy “grounding skills” to be less impulsive or “think before he acts”.
When board member Gordon Sinclair asked if he could think of any recent examples where he applied those skills, Murray struggled for an answer.
“This is a little bit overwhelming, this process,” Murray explained.
“I’m still getting used to it.”
Sinclair said Murray needed more opportunities to test out these newly learned skills and Murray agreed.
Another board member Waimarama Taumaunu pressed Murray on whether he still maintained what he said in the last hearing and during his trial, that he had not intended to fatally strike Morris.
“Yes,” he replied.
She then asked how his new therapeutic skills related to Morris’ murder.
“I think I was a bit impulsive that night, I acted out of fear for someone that I loved,” Murray answered.
The psychotherapy he had received had helped his impulse control “a little”, he said.
If he applied the treatment to what he did “that night”, he would have acted differently.
“I wouldn’t have taken a weapon to that place, I would have rung the cops, I might’ve just stayed inside,” he said.
“You’ll have to forgive me, but it doesn’t sound very definitive, sir,” Taumaunu challenged.
He explained when he thinks back to that night, it’s pretty “deep” and he is overcome with the reality that he hurt Morris and continues to hurt the man’s family.
“It’s a bit of a hard thing to bring back up and talk about.”
But Taumaunu emphasised it was “really important” Murray was able to talk about the incident so the board could assess whether or not he poses a risk to the public.
“So far, I haven’t been persuaded,” she continued.
Apart from these new skills, Murray was unsure what reintegration looked like, explaining that this was his first time in prison and he had never been at this stage before.
His lawyer Jasper Rhodes said Murray was “well aware” there were still several steps he needed to take before he could be released.
A prison education
The board also heard of Murray’s achievements during his decade behind bars.
He had been focused on his tertiary education, graduated with a bachelor’s degree and became a mentor to other inmates, prison staff reported.
Rhodes said his client had taken on the board’s previous concerns and was doing what he could to address them.
The reintegration steps were out of Murray’s control and more in the hands of Corrections, the lawyer said.
Rhodes was looking for a next date before the board, “respectfully” in the shorter rather than longer term, where they could check in on the process.
A date was made for Murray to come before the panel again next May, as it would take that long for his reintegration plan to be put in place, the board heard.
Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice related stories.