Stanley Waipouri was 39 when he was beaten to death in his home in Palmerston North in 2006. Photo: Supplied / Facebook
A man who was 19 years old when he and a friend beat a gay man to death in his home has been released from jail after spending 15 years behind bars.
Ashley Arnopp, now 36, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 for his role in the murder of Stanley Waipouri, 39, who was found dead after sustaining horrific injuries in an hour-long beating that was apparently motivated by homophobia.
The two killers were found by police at the grisly scene of the crime at Waipouri's home in Palmerston North in 2006. Arnopp pleaded guilty part-way through his trial, while his friend Andre Gilling was convicted by a jury and has since admitted he played a significant role in the murder.
The pair both became eligible for early release in 2021 after serving their 15-year minimum non-parole period for their life sentences, but both were denied.
However, following a hearing in June this year, Arnopp has been released from prison, a Parole Board decision released to NZME reveals.
Arnopp's co-accused, Gilling, who was just 17 years old at the time, has been denied parole again but appears to be nearing release.
At Arnopp and Gilling's trial in 2008, the jury heard how Waipouri died of head and neck injuries after being kicked, punched and stomped on in a beating that lasted over an hour.
He was found naked from the waist down and the tip of his penis was missing, one of his ears was severely mutilated and he had bite marks on his nipples.
The High Court in Palmerston North heard that despite an extensive search of the property, the missing body parts were never discovered.
Ashley Arnopp (pictured) and Andre Gilling were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Stanley Waipouri. Photo: Supplied / Facebook
The court was told the mutilation of Waipouri's penis had been carried out after his death but further explanation was never offered as it had no bearing on the murder charges sought by the Crown.
Saliva from both Gilling and Arnopp was also found on Waipouri's nipples and stomach.
During the trial, the court was told the pair had consumed cannabis, party pills and alcohol before the attack.
One of Waipouri's friends, Danny Delamere, told NZME he met Waipouri roughly a year before his death.
"He was my introduction into the gay community in Palmy," Delamere said, "People thought we were lovers but he wasn't my type!
"I still miss him to this day."
Delamere recalls the night Waipouri was murdered and rushed around to his friend's flat, only to find a police cordon already set up, with no one allowed inside.
He said he sat near Arnopp and Gilling at the trial and was struck by how young the two teenagers looked.
"They were just kids really, just babies," he said.
"But as bizarre as it sounds if justice has been served and they've done their time then it's time for them to be released.
Danny Delamere at the grave of his friend Stanley Waipouri. Photo: Supplied
"It doesn't feel like enough justice for Stan but there needs to be the right level of justice for those boys as well."
Arnopp appeared before the parole board in June this year, where the board noted that prior to confessing to murdering Waipouri, he had 43 convictions for violence, property and drug offending dating back to 2004.
The board noted that while in prison he'd completed psych assessments and a drug treatment programme and had been working outside the wire. He was assessed as being at a medium risk for violent reoffending.
"Having considered all of the relevant matters relating to Mr Arnopp we have decided he is no longer an undue risk and can be released," the board said in its ruling.
" … overall with the excellent support he has, with the positive reports both from the psychologist and in the Parole Assessment Report and the very good support he has and the hard work that he has done over a significant period of time, [we assess] that he can now be released on parole".
The board prohibited him from going to Palmerston North given his history of offending in the town and stressed the importance of him continuing to meet with a psychologist once released. They also forbade him from going to the Bay of Plenty, Māngere and Napier, and from any contact with the victims of his previous offending.
By contrast, Arnopp's co-accused Andre Gilling, now 34, also had a hearing in June and was assessed to still be at a high risk of reoffending.
The board noted he seemed frustrated about his lack of progress in getting reintegrative testing after he was transferred to Invercargill Prison from Rimutaka Prison.
"As we have said, we appreciate some short testing to make sure that he is settled in the prison, but after that we think that he should be urgently fast-tracked toward release to work," the board said.
The board said it would see him again in March 2024 but for the meantime, he remained an undue risk to the community.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
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