Latest news with #Bonilla-Herrera
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Young woman's killer said neighbours were 'all elderly'
A probation officer for a convicted rapist who murdered Juliana Bonilla-Herrera in her Christchurch home has told the woman's grieving sister they had no authority to check who was living next door to him. It came during an emotional exchange on the third day of the Christchurch inquest into the Colombian woman's death, in front of Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame. Bonilla-Herrera was stabbed to death by Joseph James Brider in January 2022, just 10 weeks after he was released from prison to a unit next door in Addington. On Wednesday, the court heard further evidence from Brider's probation officer who had been working closely with him at the time he murdered his next door neighbour. The witness, whose identity is suppressed, relayed further details of their dealings with Brider after beginning their evidence on Tuesday. They had been assigned Brider's case after the prisoner was paroled to a unit on Grove St in November 2021. During a house visit, the probation officer asked Brider what his neighbours were like. Brider said his neighbours were "all elderly people". The officer became teary-eyed as they told the inquest they had not been given any information to doubt what Brider had reported. In their internal case file, the officer had noted that any "attractive female would be seen as a potential risk". Despite being deemed a high-risk offender, Brider was not subject to the Department of Corrections' community notification policy in place at the time, meaning community members were alerted only if neighbouring residents had offended against children. The department would later broaden its criteria, to include perpetrators of violence and sexual violence against adults. The probation officer told counsel assisting the coroner, Rebekah Jordan, that they had to rely mostly on Brider's self-reporting. "Had I received information, I would've acted on it," they said. "It would've been escalated to police." The officer said they were unaware at the time of Bonilla-Herrera raising concerns to friends about Brider. The court heard the officer was also bound by the department's privacy guidelines. "What would be stopping neighbours such as Juliana, who are exposed to risk and living in a unit covered by (Brider)'s GPS from being given, for example a card for a number to call, if they have any concerns," Jordan asked. "As a probation officer I don't think I can answer that question," they replied. "It's a policy decision, and I would've loved to have been able to have done that in my job. I hope people further up can answer that question." Bonilla-Herera's family were listening to proceedings via audio-visual link, including sister Saray Bonilla in California. Through interpreters, the sister asked the officer why they did not verify Brider's description of his neighbours, given his psychological profile. Again tearing up, the officer replied: "Under our Corrections policy, I had no authority to door knock on your sister's door to ascertain this information." The officer added it was not that they trusted his word, but that they were limited in verifying his information due to Corrections' policy. Earlier, the witness became visibly upset when asked if they agreed that Brider had "masked his intentions" from the people that were helping to reintegrate him. "Yes that is correct," they sobbed. Further details were heard about a relationship Brider said he had begun with a woman after he was released. The officer said the development was surprising and concerning, given his safety plans were to not engage with females for two years. Both probation and a psychologist "robustly discussed" plans to refer Brider for assessment, as one of his special parole conditions was to complete treatment if he entered into a relationship. He was never assessed due to attempts to clarify the nature of the relationship and lengthy wait-lists for appointments. Darius Fagan, a former Corrections chief probation officer who completed a review of Brider's management in 2022, began his evidence later on Wednesday afternoon. His testimony resumes on Thursday.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Murderer lied about living next door to victim
A probation officer for a convicted rapist who murdered Juliana Bonilla-Herrera in her Christchurch home has told the woman's grieving sister they had no authority to check who was living next door to him. It came during an emotional exchange on the third day of the Christchurch inquest into the Colombian woman's death, in front of Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame. Bonilla-Herrera was stabbed to death by Joseph James Brider in January 2022, just 10 weeks after he was released from prison to a unit next door in Addington. On Wednesday, the court heard further evidence from Brider's probation officer who had been working closely with him at the time he murdered his next door neighbour. The witness, whose identity is suppressed, relayed further details of their dealings with Brider after beginning their evidence on Tuesday. They had been assigned Brider's case after the prisoner was paroled to a unit on Grove Street in November 2021. During a house visit, the probation officer asked Brider what his neighbours were like. He said that his neighbours were "all elderly people". The officer became teary-eyed as they told the inquest they had not been given any information to doubt what Brider had reported. In their internal case file, the officer had noted that any "attractive female would be seen as a potential risk". Despite being deemed a high risk offender, Brider was not subject to the Department of Corrections' community notification policy in place at the time, meaning only community members were alerted if neighbouring residents had offended against children. The department would later broaden its criteria, to include perpetrators of violence and sexual violence against adults. The probation officer told counsel assisting the coroner, Rebekah Jordan, that they had to rely mostly on Brider's self-reporting. "Had I received information, I would've acted on it," they said. "It would've been escalated to police." The officer said they were unaware at the time of Bonilla-Herrera raising concerns to friends about Brider. The court heard the officer was also bound by the department's privacy guidelines. "What would be stopping neighbours such as Juliana, who are exposed to risk and living in a unit covered by (Brider)'s GPS from being given, for example a card for a number to call, if they have any concerns," Jordan asked. "As a probation officer I don't think I can answer that question," they replied. "It's a policy decision, and I would've loved to have been able to have done that in my job. I hope people further up can answer that question." Bonilla-Herera's family were listening to proceedings via audio-visual link, including sister Saray Bonilla in California. Through interpreters, the sister asked the officer why they did not verify Brider's description of his neighbours, given his psychological profile. Again tearing up, the officer replied: "Under our Corrections policy, I had no authority to door knock on your sister's door to ascertain this information." The officer added it was not that they trusted his word, but that they were limited in verifying his information due to Corrections' policy. Earlier, the witness became visibly upset when asked if they agreed that Brider had "masked his intentions" from the people that were helping to reintegrate him. "Yes that is correct," they sobbed. Further details were heard about a relationship Brider said he had begun with a woman after he was released. The officer said the development was surprising and concerning, given his safety plans were to not engage with females for two years. Both probation and a psychologist "robustly discussed" plans to refer Brider for assessment, as one of his special parole conditions was to complete treatment if he entered into a relationship. He was never assessed due to attempts to clarify the nature of the relationship and lengthy wait-lists for appointments. Darius Fagan, a former Corrections chief probation officer who completed a review of Brider's management in 2022, began his evidence later on Wednesday afternoon. His testimony resumes on Thursday.
Otago Daily Times
29-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Bonilla-Herrera inquest: High-risk offenders regularly released into community
By Adam Burns of RNZ High-risk offenders - similar to the threat posed by the man who murdered Juliana Bonilla-Herrera - are regularly being paroled from prison and into the community, a senior Corrections staff member says. The comments came as the coronial inquest into the Colombian woman's death continued in Christchurch on Tuesday. Bonilla-Herrera was stabbed to death by Joseph James Brider in January 2022, just 10 weeks after he was released from prison to a unit next door in Addington. Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame heard further evidence from Corrections' staff, all of whose identities remain suppressed, during the second day of proceedings. This included Brider's probation officer, who broke down during the early stages of their testimony. Earlier, a senior Corrections case manager gave evidence in court. The experienced staffer acted as an intermediary between the department and community reintegration services when Brider's release was being planned for in 2021. Counsel assisting the coroner Rebekah Jordan asked the witness about efforts to secure Brider a bed at the Salisbury Street Foundation (SSF) rehabilitation centre in 2021, including approving the arrangement before a June hearing with the New Zealand Parole Board. Due to uncertainty that the SSF centre would have a bed for Brider, alternative accommodation arrangements were sought. A referral to the centre would ultimately be cancelled by the department. The Corrections staff member said there was a shortage of suitable accommodation options, exacerbated by the "unavoidable" closure of a community provider at that time. "Whether that was a factor, I believe it played a part in terms of them being unable to confirm bed availability, because there was still people coming in and going and they were trying to juggle where they were at," they said. During follow-up questions, Corrections lawyer Pip Currie asked generally about the release of parolees. "In terms of Mr Brider and his risk, he was seen as a high-risk offender, are other high-risk offenders also being released into the community?" "Yes," they replied. "People with higher needs than Mr Brider, in terms of what was seen as the risk?" Currie followed. "I would have to say yes." The witness added there was not enough intensive support services like the SSF centre in the community. Earlier in the day, Brider's case manager faced further questions after beginning their evidence on Monday. When Jordan asked if they would have done anything differently in hindsight, they said it was a "difficult question to answer". "I don't think anyone knew that this would've happened. The circumstances of his offending wasn't within the risk profile we were working with." Cunninghame allowed the family, who were again dialled in via audio-visual link from overseas, to ask questions of witnesses. Through interpreters, Bonilla-Herrera's sister Saray Bonilla asked both witnesses whether - "from a human perspective" - they considered it necessary to warn neighbours of the possible danger. Both times Cunninghame intervened, explaining this was beyond scope of the witnesses' role in proceedings. Later Brider's probation officer was called to give evidence. Visibly upset, the witness expressed their condolences to the Bonilla-Herrera family as they began their pre-written statement, The court heard how the probation officer was alerted via email the day after Bonilla-Herrera was murdered that Brider's curfew arrangements had not been correctly logged. "I did not know it hadn't been loaded into the system." Despite this, the officer continued to carry out daily checks as if it had been correctly entered. They also explained growing concerns about their client following his release, particularly due to the fact Brider was no longer to be housed at the SSF centre. "I already knew he we was high risk because Salisbury Street is where our high risk offenders go to. So the fact that was indicated, that he was supposed to go to Salisbury Street, made me hyper-aware. As a result, they explained they would need to take on "a lot more oversight" for Brider. The witness will resume their evidence on Wednesday.
Otago Daily Times
29-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
High-risk offenders regularly released into community, inquest told
By Adam Burns of RNZ High-risk offenders - similar to the threat posed by the man who murdered Juliana Bonilla-Herrera - are regularly being paroled from prison and into the community, a senior Corrections staff member says. The comments came as the coronial inquest into the Colombian woman's death continued in Christchurch on Tuesday. Bonilla-Herrera was stabbed to death by Joseph James Brider in January 2022, just 10 weeks after he was released from prison to a unit next door in Addington. Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame heard further evidence from Corrections' staff, all of whose identities remain suppressed, during the second day of proceedings. This included Brider's probation officer, who broke down during the early stages of their testimony. Earlier, a senior Corrections case manager gave evidence in court. The experienced staffer acted as an intermediary between the department and community reintegration services when Brider's release was being planned for in 2021. Counsel assisting the coroner Rebekah Jordan asked the witness about efforts to secure Brider a bed at the Salisbury Street Foundation (SSF) rehabilitation centre in 2021, including approving the arrangement before a June hearing with the New Zealand Parole Board. Due to uncertainty that the SSF centre would have a bed for Brider, alternative accommodation arrangements were sought. A referral to the centre would ultimately be cancelled by the department. The Corrections staff member said there was a shortage of suitable accommodation options, exacerbated by the "unavoidable" closure of a community provider at that time. "Whether that was a factor, I believe it played a part in terms of them being unable to confirm bed availability, because there was still people coming in and going and they were trying to juggle where they were at," they said. During follow-up questions, Corrections lawyer Pip Currie asked generally about the release of parolees. "In terms of Mr Brider and his risk, he was seen as a high-risk offender, are other high-risk offenders also being released into the community?" "Yes," they replied. "People with higher needs than Mr Brider, in terms of what was seen as the risk?" Currie followed. "I would have to say yes." The witness added there was not enough intensive support services like the SSF centre in the community. Earlier in the day, Brider's case manager faced further questions after beginning their evidence on Monday. When Jordan asked if they would have done anything differently in hindsight, they said it was a "difficult question to answer". "I don't think anyone knew that this would've happened. The circumstances of his offending wasn't within the risk profile we were working with." Cunninghame allowed the family, who were again dialled in via audio-visual link from overseas, to ask questions of witnesses. Through interpreters, Bonilla-Herrera's sister Saray Bonilla asked both witnesses whether - "from a human perspective" - they considered it necessary to warn neighbours of the possible danger. Both times Cunninghame intervened, explaining this was beyond scope of the witnesses' role in proceedings. Later Brider's probation officer was called to give evidence. Visibly upset, the witness expressed their condolences to the Bonilla-Herrera family as they began their pre-written statement, The court heard how the probation officer was alerted via email the day after Bonilla-Herrera was murdered that Brider's curfew arrangements had not been correctly logged. "I did not know it hadn't been loaded into the system." Despite this, the officer continued to carry out daily checks as if it had been correctly entered. They also explained growing concerns about their client following his release, particularly due to the fact Brider was no longer to be housed at the SSF centre. "I already knew he we was high risk because Salisbury Street is where our high risk offenders go to. So the fact that was indicated, that he was supposed to go to Salisbury Street, made me hyper-aware. As a result, they explained they would need to take on "a lot more oversight" for Brider. The witness will resume their evidence on Wednesday.
Otago Daily Times
28-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
'Any attractive female' was at risk from Chch killer
By Adam Burns The Department of Corrections has admitted failures of its monitoring for a paroled prisoner who went on to brutally murder Colombian woman Juliana Bonilla-Herrera in her Christchurch flat. But the agency's lawyer said the error did not lead to the woman's death at the hands of a convicted rapist, who lived next door. The 37-year-old was stabbed to death by Joseph James Brider in January 2022. Brider had been released on parole to a unit next door to Bonilla-Herrera's flat just 10 weeks earlier, having served seven years in prison for multiple sexual offences, including rape and kidnapping. An inquest into her death began in Christchurch on Monday in front of coroner Alexandra Cunninghame. After beginning with a karakia, Cunninghame paid tribute to the woman who had been killed in such a "brutal, callous, and depraved" fashion. The coroner offered a message of condolences to Bonilla-Herrera's family in Spanish. "I know Juliana was a vibrant, adventurous and interesting person, and that she deserves to be remembered in so many more ways than the terrible way in which she died," she said. Family members were dialled into the hearing from the United States, with interpreters relaying in-court proceedings to them. Lawyers for the various agencies also expressed their sympathies as they began their respective opening statements. Brider was granted parole and released in November 2021 to a unit on Grove Street, Addington, three months ahead of his statutory release date. He was assessed as being a medium-to-high risk of re-offending and paroled under 14 special conditions, including electronic monitoring. Counsel assisting the coroner Rebekah Jordan touched on meetings Brider had with his probation officer, in which he had lied about his neighbours. "Mr Brider was asked about any interactions he had had with his neighbours. In response he said they were all elderly people. "The probation officer did not see any neighbours during this visit. But noted that 'any attractive female moving into the neighbouring flats, or next door, it would be seen as a potential risk'," she said. As part of Brider's release conditions, the New Zealand Parole Board requested he remain in his unit from 9pm each night to 6am the next morning. This detail, however, was not properly logged into the system. Corrections lawyer Pip Currie said the "failure" was not the reason Bonilla-Herrera was murdered. "It's necessary to emphasise that this failure was immaterial in that it did not allow, or did not permit, for the offending to otherwise occur, but for proper monitoring," she said. "Put another way the offending would not have been prevented if the curfew was logged and monitored correctly. "On the face of it, it looks bad." Because Brider was only next door to Bonilla-Herrera, his electronic monitoring was unable to consistently register when he had left his unit. The monitoring equipment also allowed, for what Corrections described, as a "grace period" of 10 minutes, Currie said. "Given the proximity of the addresses, with effectively only a wall between them, the capabilities of the electronic monitoring equipment were not able always to identify [Brider] going next door to another address," she said. The court also heard how the Pathway Trust charity had been working with Brider as part of a programme to integrate him back into the community. The trust's lawyer Kerryn Beaton KC said staff believed the parolee "appeared to be doing well". "None of Pathways staff ever had cause to suspect that he was thinking about, or planning to do, what he did to Juliana or anyone. "With hindsight, it is clear that he manipulated everyone he dealt with, including Pathways staff. "And he hid his planning from them and from others," she said. Brider's Corrections' case manager, whose identity has been suppressed, began their evidence later in the day. The court heard how Brider told an integration support co-ordinator of wanting any support available to him because of his tendency of re-offending after release. "He wanted this to be different." The coroner will examine more than 20 issues during the 10-day inquest, including pre-release decisions, information provided to the New Zealand Parole Board, Department of Corrections checks about the suitability of Brider's accommodation, how he was managed and monitored following his release and whether the community should have been informed. The inquest continues on Tuesday.
