Convicted double-murderer Scott Watson due before Parole Board again

It was now accepted that Hope and Smart died in circumstances that amounted to murder at the hands of the lone man with whom they boarded the yacht on which they were last seen.

The key issue at trial was whether that man was Watson.

Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. Photo / Supplied

Watson became eligible for parole in June 2015, but his denials had been a factor in why parole had been declined four times so far.

His fifth attempt in March last year was abandoned after the Parole Board ran out of time to hear from Watson, his family and an independent psychologist.

The Court of Appeal turned down a bid to quash Watson’s murder convictions last year.

The appeal focused on the use of photo montages shown to witnesses before the original trial and the reliability of forensic testing used to show that two hairs found on Watson’s boat belonged to Hope.

An almost 300-page decision released last September by Justices Christine French, Patricia Courtney and Susan Thomas found there was no miscarriage of justice in relation to the hair evidence or the identification of Watson by water taxi skipper Guy Wallace.

The court was satisfied that Watson’s trial was fair and the jury’s guilty verdicts followed the Crown presenting a compelling case.

It was Watson’s fourth attempt to appeal his convictions.

The first application to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was dismissed, then an application to the Privy Council for special leave to appeal was declined in late 2003.

An application for the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy – a special avenue for criminal cases to be reopened where a person might have been wrongly convicted – was declined in 2013.

Watson made a second application for a royal pardon in November 2017 and in 2020 the Governor-General referred the question of his convictions to the Court of Appeal to determine whether a miscarriage of justice had occurred with the hearing held in 2024.

Timeline

1999: Scott Watson is convicted of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope2000: The Court of Appeal declines to recommend a second trial2003: The Privy Council declines to hear the case, saying there are no grounds for further appeal2009: Watson petitions the Governor-General for a Royal Prerogative of Mercy pardon (on the basis that Ros McNeilly and Guy Wallace no longer believed they had identified the right person)2013: Then-Justice Minister Judith Collins advises Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae that Watson’s application for a royal pardon should be declined on the basis of a report by Kristy McDonald QC that found there was no “fresh evidence” to consider2015: Watson is denied parole for the first time2017: A second application for a Royal Pardon is made (by convicted murderer Brian McDonald), centring on the reliability of evidence of the two blonde hairs found on Watson’s boat Blade. The application is declined2020: Then-Justice Minister Andrew Little announces Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy has referred Watson’s case back to the Court of Appeal. He appears before the Parole Board for the third time2021: A fourth attempt at parole is declined2025: Watson appears before the parole board for a fifth time (after two adjournments May and November 2024) but the hearing runs out of time.

– RNZ