Justice Williamson-Atkinson, 17, was sentenced in the High Court at New Plymouth this week. Photo: NZME
The people behind a programme for troubled youth have spoken for the first time since a participant murdered a camper while under their watch, addressing the lasting impact of his "unjust" death and confirming policy changes have been made to avoid further tragedy.
Oranga Tamariki, the programme partner of Start Taranaki, has also acknowledged the "horrific event" and said it has beefed up its vetting process when considering future candidates for the course.
It said the programme would also no longer take place at public campgrounds.
On Friday, Start Taranaki issued a statement to NZME acknowledging the loss of Adrian Humphreys, 57, describing his death as "tragic and unjust".
"We understand that this will continue to have a lasting impact felt by all of his whānau and friends and wish to extend our deepest condolences," the Kaponga-based organisation said.
"Start also wishes to recognise the continued impact on those who were present when the tragedy occurred and acknowledge the weight that the campground staff have carried throughout this time."
The statement, attributed to the Start Taranaki management team, follows this week's sentencing of Justice Williamson-Atkinson, 17, who was jailed for life with a minimum period of imprisonment of 11 years for the murder of Humphreys.
The teen was staying at Bushlands Campground in Tāngarākau, located along the Forgotten World Highway, with Start Taranaki when he snuck into Humphreys' camper overnight to steal his car keys and then stabbed him five times.
Williamson-Atkinson and another youth on the programme had planned to steal a car to escape the remote area.
Start Taranaki provides an eight-week programme to troubled youth involving time spent in the bush, the beach, a marae, and in a residential space learning skills such as barbering.
It has been operating for around two decades and has helped hundreds of young people during that time. The service drew praise from former Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft, who said high-risk youth needed programmes like Start Taranaki.
As part of the programme, Williamson-Atkinson arrived at Bushlands with two other teens and three Start Taranaki youth workers on 6 May, 2022.
But early the following morning, two of the youth workers discovered Humphreys' body lying face down on the ground, about 20 metres from his camper.
Williamson-Atkinson has maintained his innocence, claiming it was another teen on the programme who had killed the former Royal Air Force serviceman, but was found guilty at a trial in November.
Humphreys, originally from Britain, lived in Rotorua where he worked at Southern Cross Healthcare as an anaesthetic technician.
He had stayed at Bushlands only weeks before his death and was excited to be returning with the camper trailer he had just bought.
Knives weren't removed
During the trial, evidence was heard that the youth workers usually slept in the same tents as the teens and removed knives from kitchens at any site the programme visited.
But that did not happen on this trip.
Evidence was heard that Williamson-Atkinson took a knife from the camp's kitchen and put it down his pants before taking it to his tent and hiding it in his sleeping bag.
Later that evening, he snuck out of his tent while everyone slept, and went into Humphreys' camper.
In evidence, the managers of Bushlands said Start Taranaki had been taking teens to their campground for around five years and there had not been any previous issues.
They said the youth workers usually slept in the same cabins or tents as the teens and would also remove all aerosols and "sharp objects" from communal areas when they arrived.
Hayden Tunnicliffe, a former Start Taranaki employee who was one of the youth workers staying with the teens on the night of the murder, confirmed in evidence that knives were usually removed from kitchens when the programme visited a site.
He said on this occasion, however, no youth worker was tasked with that job.
Tunnicliffe said Williamson-Atkinson had washed dinner dishes that evening, including a knife used to cut meat and tomatoes, and that he was supervised while doing so.
He told the court it was the programme's policy to have "24-hour surveillance" over the boys, except while they were in the bathroom.
When questioned about the programme's sleeping arrangement during their trip, Tunnicliffe said the youth workers had slept in a shared tent with its main door open, facing the teens' individual pup tents.
He had no concerns about the youths being in their own tents and said in evidence he was the last of the youth workers to go to bed.
Tunnicliffe was "100 per cent" convinced the boys were asleep.
Managing risk going forward
Former participants of a Start Taranaki camp. Photo: Supplied / Start Taranaki
The statement from Start Taranaki said the fact the tragedy had "occurred under our watch has deeply impacted the entire organisation".
"We have worked intensively to review and make changes to our policies and procedures where necessary.
"We have also used this time to work closely with Oranga Tamariki around our referral process.
"As well as this, our staff receive significant levels of training on a regular basis to ensure high levels of vigilance at all times."
Start Taranaki said it had operated for 20 years without serious incidents and remained dedicated to providing services to at-risk youth.
"The actions of one individual must not speak for the hundreds of other rangatahi who are resolute in their desire to change."
Oranga Tamariki confirmed it had worked alongside Start Taranaki since the murder to establish how to mitigate risk further.
In a statement by the agency, deputy chief executive service delivery Rachel Leota said a panel of senior Oranga Tamariki staff would now review the referrals made to the programme, and then recommend the best candidates and identify those who were unsuitable.
Start Taranaki would then make the final decision, Leota said.
"Start has also introduced a more comprehensive briefing process prior to their intakes commencing to go over all their policies, procedures, and processes, and have introduced a range of other things to improve safety practices."
She confirmed public campgrounds would also no longer be used for its programmes.
Leota said the death of Humphreys was a tragedy.
"This was a horrific event and will have a lasting impact on not only his whānau but also the other vulnerable young people and adults who were at the campground."
- This story was first published by the NZ Herald