Source: Radio New Zealand
Convicted double-murderer Scott Watson has been denied parole for a fifth time. File picture. Pool / John Kirk-Anderson
Convicted double-murderer Scott Watson has been declined parole for a fifth time, with the parole board suggesting he address a number of their concerns ahead of his next appearance later this year.
After a two-hour hearing, it was suggested Watson undertake further treatment to address his attitudes to violence and women, have an Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment and work on his safety plan before he reappeared before the board in November.
The 54-year-old has been in prison for the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope since June 1999.
The Blenheim friends, aged 21 and 17, were last seen stepping off a water taxi onto a stranger’s yacht in the early hours of 1 January 1998 after a New Year’s Eve party at Furneaux Lodge. Their bodies have never been found.
Watson has denied murdering the pair. He first became eligible for parole in June 2015 and it was said at his parole hearings in 2021 and 2020, his refusal to admit to the crimes prevented him from undergoing the psychological treatment he needed, leaving him at an undue risk to the community.
Dressed in a standard-issue prison uniform grey tracksuit, Watson sat alongside his lawyer Kerry Cook at the hearing on Friday. He answered a number of questions put to him by board members about his behaviour, recent incidents that had occurred while in prison and his hopes around his potential release.
Watson said he had enjoyed working with a psychologist and he had developed friendships with people in prison but he also wanted to spend more time with his family. He did not want Corrections to give up on him and he hoped he would be given a chance to follow the psychological service recommendations.
Ben Smart and Olivia Hope were last seen stepping off a water taxi onto a stranger’s yacht in the early hours of 1 January 1998 after a New Year’s Eve party. NZ Police
Concerns about attitudes, use of violence and alcohol and drugs
Board member Dr Jeremy Skipworth said parole hearings proceeded on the basis of a proper conviction and given Watson had not been forthcoming about what happened at Furneaux Lodge that night, the board relied on a general agreement about the most likely scenario.
“When the two victims indicated that they needed a place to sleep, you may have offered them a berth with a genuine intention of hospitality. It’s known that you were intoxicated that night and likely both victims. Once on board a confrontation may have arisen through a social misunderstanding or some form of inappropriate behaviour from you. As you had learnt to rely on violence, including reaching for weapons during confrontations, with three individuals eventually trapped with potentially limited ability to de-escalate the situation, an unintended tragedy may have taken place, leading to the first victim’s death,” he said.
“You have a distinct pattern of not taking responsibility for your actions and shifting blame and distress alongside an overconfidence in your ability to cover up or get away with things therefore it could be considered that your natural tendency would be to cover up such an event to avoid responsibility.”
Watson admitted to being intoxicated at Furneaux Lodge on New Year’s Eve in 1998 and Dr Skipworth questioned his safety plan did not include intoxication with alcohol and drugs as a high risk situation, given it was associated with future escalation into violence.
Watson said it had been included in his previous safety plan but he had removed it as it was in his release plan and a requirement of the conditions for parole, so he thought it was sufficiently covered and he had no plans to consume alcohol or drugs if he did not adhere to those conditions.
“I’ve got a lot to lose if I don’t.
“If I disregarded my safety plan, I think in no time I would just fall over, flat on my face.”
When asked what the ideal first step outside prison would be, Watson said it would be to live with his family, not complete strangers, as he needed the support of those who loved him.
Misconduct at Christchurch Men’s Prison
The board was played footage of a “misconduct event” involving Watson at Christchurch Men’s Prison in 2025.
In the video, a group of men including Watson are sitting around two long tables, with some seen to be playing cards. Watson grabs one of the other inmates, puts him into a headlock, then drags him backwards off the bench he had been sitting on and onto the floor. The inmate then gets to his feet and Watson pushes him back to the ground, before a third inmate steps forward to punch the man in the face.
A psychologist giving evidence at the hearing said it was unpredictable violence that came out of nowhere and did not appear to have a trigger.
Watson had characterised it as a play fight with someone he considered a friend and he had not seen much wrong with it, but he expressed remorse that it had occurred.
He acknowledged that he sometimes said “stupid things” and made jokes that were in poor taste.
“I think there is something in me that self-sabotages.”
A plan for release
Lawyer Kerry Cook said the punishment period of Watson’s imprisonment was over and he was seeking some concrete steps about how to move forward.
“The current unit he is in, it is really treading water unless there is something else happening.”
A Corrections psychologist said she believed Watson could be safely managed in the community, with a release plan, in supported accommodation and with other contingencies.
“Given that Mr Watson has been incarcerated for a significant period of time, 26-odd years, I think that he needs more of a gradual reintegration and reintroduction into a community that is vastly different to the one he left 26 years ago.”
She said there remained concerns about Watson’s attitudes to women, his endorsement of antisocial activities and his friendship with someone who was not pro-social, that needed to be addressed before decisions were made on a rehabilitative pathway.
He had been described as a “nice enough bloke when sober” that had some social and communication difficulties.
She believed a specialist assessment would be beneficial to determine whether some of Watson’s characteristics and traits stemmed from a neurodevelopmental condition, or were the result of long-term incarceration, which would help to better manage his risk in the community.
An independent psychologist said while there remained evidence that Watson believed in condoning the use of violence in specific contexts, she said there was limited evidence of it manifesting in his behaviour and there was nothing to show he harboured hostile attitudes towards women.
She said he displayed concrete views with limited ability for abstract thinking and his personality traits could be a result of his prolonged incarceration, instead of a neurodevelopmental disorder.
“There is a risk Mr Watson has almost given up hope… he doubts he will ever get out.”
Lawyer for Corrections Claire Boshier said Watson still posed an undue risk to society and he was not ready for release.
“Although Mr Watson is assessed at low risk of really serious violence or murder, he is at medium risk of violence short of that and medium risk of general reoffending.”
She said specialised assessment would help to better understand the personality aspects of Watson’s risk, which informed what he was capable of and the approach taken for his release.
While Watson had demonstrated some positive progress, Boshier said it was tempered by several enduring characteristics, including his hostility toward women and his capacity for violence, which was evident in the most recent misconduct event in prison.
“The lack of ability to be able to understand why that unprovoked violence occurred and the lack of insight to reflect on it afterwards… is an indication of why Mr Watson remains an undue risk at this stage.”
Watson is due to reappear before the parole board in November.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
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