New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Mark Edward LUNDY

Hearing: 17 April 2025

at Tongariro Prison via MS Teams

Members of the Board:

Ms K Snook – Panel Convenor

Dr B Leslie

Mr P Elenio

Mr A Spierling

Counsel: Ms J Kincade KC

Ms E Burton

Media: Mr J Wilkinson - NZ Herald

Mr J Ellingham - Radio NZ

Ms A Rousseau – Stuff

In Attendance: [withheld] - Case Manager

Support Persons: [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mark Edward Lundy, 66, appeared for the further consideration of parole in relation to a life sentence for two murders that he committed in 2000.  The victims were his wife and daughter.  He was found guilty on two occasions.  The details of that are set out in earlier decisions of the Board.
2. In short, Mr Lundy was first sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders on 20 March 2002.   He was successful in 2013 in relation to an appeal to the Privy Council and a retrial was ordered.  This meant that Mr Lundy was on bail in the community from around October 2013 to April 2015.  He was found guilty of the murders at a second trial in 2015, and again sentenced to life imprisonment.  He has served a minimum non-parole period of 20 years in prison.
3. Mr Lundy is on a minimum prison security classification.  These are his only convictions.
4. Mr Lundy appeared last before the Board on 25 May 2023.  That Board noted that, as requested by the previous Board, Mr Lundy had completed the DTP in relation to his issues with alcohol.  He had a safety plan that he had prepared with the help of a Departmental psychologist.  That Board noted Mr Lundy’s good compliance and support.
5. However, the Board was not satisfied in relation to Mr Lundy’s risk because of the nature of the offending which was described as planned and brutal.  It accepted that Mr Lundy’s risk was low but the test of undue risk in the Parole Act 2002 requires the Board to also take account of the nature and seriousness of any likely future offending.  The Board said that Mr Lundy's denial did not preclude parole.  However, in the context of the particular murders committed by Mr Lundy, the Board remained concerned regarding risk having regard to Mr Lundy’s propensity to avoid outward signs of concern and to be secretive.  It was also concerned that Mr Lundy supporters consider him innocent.  It was unclear to the Board what factors led to the murder because Mr Lundy denied the offending.
6. The Board asked Mr Lundy to work with a Departmental and/or a private psychologist to try to convince the next Board that his risk was no longer undue.
7. We had written submissions from Ms Burton who was also supported at the hearing by Ms Kincade KC.  Ms Burton spoke to the written submissions.  Mr Lundy was seeking parole.  The submission was that he has consistently been assessed as at low risk of re‑offending.  Ms Burton’s submission was that Mr Lundy has demonstrated his low risk over time in prison by behaving well, working well in employment, including Outside the Wire for quite some time.  She also referred to his good compliance on bail for around 18 months.  There have been several guided releases although it was noted that those have not occurred more recently.  [withheld].
8. Ms Burton also said that Mr Lundy is now approved for Release to Work by the Panel, which is an important sign that the prison trust him.  There is no Release to Work currently available and there appears little prospect that an appropriate Release to Work opportunity will be found for Mr Lundy in the near future.  The work that Mr Lundy has been doing in the carpentry area has been one which has involved significant trust and responsibility.  He basically completes all of the maintenance jobs around the prison.
9. Ms Burton’s submissions referred to the fact that the denial of the index offending does mean that Mr Lundy’s pathway towards release is more difficult than if he had followed a more conventional path based on acceptance of responsibility for the offending.  However, the submission was that it is not necessary for Mr Lundy to accept that he committed the offending either to reduce risk or to manage Mr Lundy’s risk in the community.  He is assessed in the psychological reports as being at low risk of re-offending.  Any risk areas have been identified now via the one-on-one treatment that Mr Lundy has completed with his private psychologist.  This was in addition to earlier one to one treatment with a Departmental psychologist.
10. We have a report from [withheld], Mr Lundy's private psychologist, dated 1 April 2025. That refers to the 12 treatment sessions that Mr Lundy has completed with her. These sessions were based on the Good Lives Model.  Mr Lundy appeared to accept during treatment that he avoided issues.  He learned more about assertive communication and practised this in sessions and in the prison.
11. Mr Lundy now has a safety plan developed during his psychological treatment which we had seen.  It covers a number of high-risk situations.  There was a reintegration meeting on 28 March 2025, which was organised by the psychologist.  A number of supporters attended that, including the psychologist.  Mr Lundy’s supporters are well aware of his safety plan.  While they consider him innocent of the offending they are said to be strongly motivated to assist him to adhere to his safety plan and to comply with any conditions.  [withheld – private psychologist] has indicated that she is going to continue treatment with Mr Lundy in the community if he is released on parole.
12. Ms Burton’s final submissions were that the experts, namely the psychologists, agree that Mr Lundy’s risk can be managed safely in the community via his safety plan, release plan and the support that is available to him.
13. While Ms Burton accepted that the seriousness of the harm was an important consideration in assessing undue risk for Mr Lundy, she did refer to the fact that these are his only convictions and that otherwise there is no pattern of previous offending, violent or otherwise.
14. We had a lengthy hearing with Mr Lundy.  We talked through with him the key elements of his new safety plan.  He said that having done the treatment with the psychologist he now has more insight into where he has made mistakes in the past in his life.
15. A key risk identified by the psychologist appears to be that of Mr Lundy presenting himself favourably even when things are not going well. Mr Lundy said that was the biggest mistake he made on bail.  He said that because he has spent so long in prison he has learnt to hold things in.  He said that on bail he bottled up the stress he was under and did not talk to his supporters.   He said that a key sign of that is if he starts to isolate himself.  It is a risk that he is now aware of and has talked to his supporters about.  He plans to be more open about any issues in the future.
16. Mr Lundy seemed to say that a number of the high-risk situations in the safety plan are in fact not matters that have ever created any issue for him in the community.  However, while he still denies the offending, he accepts that there are issues that can develop in relationships.  He said that in his relationship things were generally good, although issues with his alcohol use and his use of sex workers indicated that there were some stresses.  He said that he did use sex workers over a period of time prior to the murders. He said his wife did not know this.  He said that arose in the context of alcohol use and being away from home for work.
17. Alcohol risk has been identified by Mr Lundy as a risk.  He has said that he will not drink in the community and there will be a special condition that will support this.
18. Mr Lundy was asked about some issues that arose on bail.  In particular, we asked him about the trips he made to the Manawatu.  He was not prohibited from going there by his bail conditions.  However, he accepted today that the decision to go there was a mistake and inconsiderate to the victims.  He said that he was willing to abide by any conditions preventing him from going to the planned exclusion zones including the Manawatu where his wife and daughter are buried, even if we imposed those conditions with no ability for his Probation Officer to approve trips to those regions.
19. Mr Lundy also said that he would not have an issue if the Board imposed special conditions preventing him from going on social media or having media interviews.  He agreed that they may be important conditions to protect him from risk as well as to address victim concerns.  He described situations where the public created issues for him when he was in the community on bail and part of his safety plan addresses those risks.  He said that he has no plans to enter into any relationships.  He said that if he did he would be open and honest with his new partner about his convictions.
20. Mr Lundy remains well supported.  As noted, his key supporters do consider him innocent however it does seem that they are motivated to ensure that Mr Lundy complies with his conditions and his safety plan so that he is not recalled to prison given that he is on life parole. [withheld].  We were told that Mr Lundy can stay [withheld – at his planned accommodation] as long as he wants.
21. The officer gave a very good report about Mr Lundy.  He has been in his unit for 4 years and has had no misconducts.  He was described as reliable and skilled in his work in the carpentry area.  It was confirmed that Mr Lundy is approved for release to work but that there are no jobs currently available for him.  In any event we are inclined to agree that release to work is unlikely to lead to any real risk reduction in Mr Lundy's case.
22. This was not an easy decision given the brutal murders committed by Mr Lundy and his claim that he did not commit those offences.  However, on balance, this Board is satisfied that Mr Lundy will not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community if released on parole on strict conditions designed to address his risk as well as assist in his reintegration and address victim concerns.
23. Mr Lundy has completed all of the treatment that is available to him given his denial of the offending including the DTP and one to one treatment with two psychologists. He is assessed as at low risk of reoffending by the psychologists.  He has a safety plan that has been assessed by the Departmental psychologist as reasonable and appropriate. We do think that Mr Lundy is likely to comply with his conditions. He has informed support and [withheld].
24. We have taken into account the nature and seriousness of Mr Lundy's likely subsequent offending as we are required to do under the Act.  However, we also note what the Departmental psychologist says at paragraph 22 of the most recent assessment. That is:

“...Mr Lundy appears to have engaged appropriately within the limits of his innocence stance and further treatment would not mitigate risk given his current position, therefore no further treatment with Psychological Services is recommended at this stage.  In the unlikely event that Mr Lundy were to accept the offending, opportunities to explore the offending would naturally open up.  It is noted that this would not likely result in a reduction in his offending risk, given he is assessed as a low risk, but could shed further light on the pathway and formulation.”

25. For these reasons Mr Lundy will be released on parole [withheld – in] May 2025 on the standard conditions and on the special conditions set out below.  All conditions are imposed for life.
26. As discussed with Mr Lundy we are imposing additional special conditions in relation to amendments to the whereabouts conditions including adding Nelson and Rangitikei and not allowing the Probation Officer to give consent for Mr Lundy to go to any of those regions.  We have also added special conditions in relation to social media and media interviews. There is also a condition which allows for Mr Lundy's devices to be checked to ensure compliance with those conditions. There will be a monitoring hearing in October 2025 where the Board will review Mr Lundy's compliance and progress on parole.
27. Suppression orders were made at the hearing [withheld]. We also suppressed the precise date on which Mr Lundy is to be released from prison.  The month of release is not suppressed. These suppressions are in addition to the normal matters that are suppressed in accordance with the Board's guidelines for media attendance.
28. The special conditions are:

(1) To comply with the requirements of partial residential restrictions and remain in the area defined by a Probation Officer at [withheld] between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am daily unless you leave the residence:

(a) to seek urgent medical or dental treatment;

(b) to avoid or minimise a serious risk of death or injury to you or any other person;

(c) for humanitarian reasons approved by a Probation Officer; or

(d) with the prior written approval of a Probation Officer in order to:

(i) comply with any special conditions;

(ii) seek or engage in employment; or

(iii) to attend training or other rehabilitative or reintegrative activities or        programmes.

(2) Upon release from prison, to travel directly to [withheld] and await the arrival of a Probation Officer and a representative from the monitoring company.

(3) Upon expiry of the residential restrictions condition, you must reside at an address approved in writing by a Probation Officer.

(4) To submit to electronic monitoring as directed by a Probation Officer, in order to monitor your compliance with any conditions relating to your residential restrictions.

(5) To comply with the requirements of electronic monitoring and provide access to the specified residence to the Probation Officer and representatives of the monitoring company, for the purpose of maintaining the electronic monitoring equipment as directed by the Probation Officer.

(6) Not to enter the Hastings, Manawatu, Rangitikei and Nelson areas as defined by a Probation Officer in writing.

(7) To submit to electronic monitoring as directed by a Probation Officer in order to monitor your compliance with any conditions relating to your whereabouts.

(8) To attend a psychological assessment and attend, participate in and complete any recommended treatment as directed by a Probation Officer.

(9) Not to possess, use, or consume alcohol, controlled drugs or psychoactive substances except controlled drugs prescribed for you by a health professional.

(10) To attend an alcohol and drug assessment, and attend, participate in and complete any treatment or counselling directed by a Probation Officer.

(11) To disclose to a Probation Officer, at the earliest opportunity, details of any intimate relationship which commences, resumes, or terminates.

(12) Not to have contact or otherwise associate, with any victim of your offending, directly or indirectly, unless you have the prior written approval of a Probation Officer.

(13) To obtain the written approval of a Probation Officer before starting or changing your position or place of employment (including self-employment, voluntary or unpaid work).  To notify a Probation Officer if you leave your position or place of employment.

(14) To attend a reintegration meeting as directed by a Probation Officer.

(15) In October 2025, to comply with any direction to attend a monitoring hearing at a time and place to be notified to you.

(16) Not to access any social media, pornography or dating sites or any other internet site specified by a Probation Officer under your name or under any other name, without the prior written approval of a Probation Officer.

(17) Upon request, to make available to a Probation Officer, or his or her agent, any electronic device capable of accessing the internet that is used by you, or is in your possession or control, for the purpose of ensuring that your use of the device is not unlawful or not in breach of your release conditions.

(18) Upon request, to provide any current password or other information to allow a Probation Officer, or his or her agent, to access any electronic device capable of accessing the internet that is used by you, or is in your possession or control.

(19) Not to initiate any media contact directly or indirectly by way of television, radio, print and social media including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, or contribute to any website by way of post or otherwise. To decline by “no comment” any request from any media for an interview or for any information about yourself, your offending, imprisonment or rehabilitation.

Please note: you may be required to undergo a drug or alcohol test and or submit to drug or alcohol monitoring.

Ms K Snook

Panel Convenor