On Friday, Hughes, who was convicted of manslaughter in relation to the death of Jacob Mills Ramsay, 33, appeared before the Parole Board, which heard there was currently no suitable address for her to be released to.
However, Hughes said she was now in a relationship with a man residing in the South Island and wished to live with him.
She sought a stand-down so the eligibility of that address could be assessed.
Beaten, chained and dragged
Ramsay was murdered in July 2022 by his colleagues, Candy and Ethan Webster, over money he owed, and his body was dumped in a rubbish pit at a Taranaki dairy farm.
They had beaten Ramsay before Candy chained him to the back of a car by his ankle, and he and Webster dragged him for almost 1km along a gravel track.
They admitted killing the father of three and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Taranaki farm worker Jacob Ramsay was murdered by his colleagues in July 2022. Photo / Tara Shaskey
Hughes, who was in a relationship with Candy at the time, was charged alongside them but was acquitted of murder at a trial.
However, she was found guilty of manslaughter and wounding Ramsay with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was jailed for five years and six months.
The Crown argued that while Hughes did not physically assault Ramsay, she was “very much” involved in Candy’s violence towards him, encouraging the attack and preventing others from intervening.
She was angry Ramsay had not repaid her and Candy the money he owed them and before his death, she broke into his home and stole two of his TVs.
‘Real reservations’
At last week’s hearing, the Parole Board heard Hughes has made “significant positive progress” in her rehabilitation, was regularly attending counselling and had completed programmes, including those to help her manage her emotions and conflict.
She believed prison was not helping her progress in “being a better person”.
“This time coming in, I am familiar and comfortable. I feel like a lot of the work I was doing while out on parole has just been put on hold,” she told the board.
Ethan Webster (centre) and William Candy (right) pleaded guilty to murdering Jacob Ramsay. Photo / Tara Shaskey
“Though I do not feel like a failure this time and I do believe I can do it again, pick back up where I left off. I still feel good in myself and proud of the progress I have made.”
While Hughes labelled the reason for her recall as being an “accommodation issue”, the board was quick to point out that the heart of it was her struggle to manage difficult emotions.
Board member Professor Susanna Every-Palmer acknowledged Hughes had been focused on improving in this area.
“Why it’s particularly important is that it was tied up in the index offending,” Every-Palmer told Hughes.
“Leading up to Mr Ramsay’s death, you were experiencing a lot of very strong negative emotions of anger, jealousy, you were distressed, and that all culminated in the events that led to his house being burgled and his death.”
It was also acknowledged that the indirect contact with Candy was an issue.
Hughes said contact had come to an end.
“There’s nothing there,” she said.
Panel convenor Neville Trendle said the board had “real reservations” about the suitability of Hughes’ plan to live with her partner but told her it would be assessed.
“Untested relationships generally are something the board doesn’t normally encourage,” he said.
Trendle said Hughes would return before the board in two months and if the proposed address was approved, it may be developed through guided releases.
“I think you could expect the board to look at that as a step-by-step process because if it were in front of us today, I don’t think you’d find us going along with it.”
Tara Shaskey is an assistant editor and reporter for the Open Justice team. She joined NZME in 2022 and has worked as a journalist since 2014.