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A joint inquest for a murdered life coach and the father of her killer’s first victim has begun in Christchurch.

Paul Russell Wilson, a convicted killer and rapist who was a groomsman at the wedding of David Bain, lay in wait for eight hours overnight, before Nicole Marie Tuxford, 27, arrived back in her Merivale home in April, 2018.

Wilson, also known as Paul Tainui, was sentenced in 2019 to life imprisonment for raping and killing Tuxford, with a minimum non-parole period of 28 years.

The shocking news that Wilson committed a second murder – 24 years after he murdered former girlfriend Kimberly Schroder in Hokitika – was too much for Schroder’s father.

Nicole Tuxford was killed in her Merivale home in 2018. Photo / File

Gary James Schroder, 67, died in a suspected suicide just hours after Wilson made his first court appearance.

On Monday, a joint inquest for Tuxford and Schroder began in Christchurch before coroner Marcus Elliot.

The central issues of the inquiry relate to the Department of Corrections identification and management of risk of re-offending.

Coroner Elliot began by addressing Gary Schroder’s wife, Nancy Schroder.

“It’s now more than 28 years since your daughter was taken in the most horrific circumstances... the ongoing grief for all that time since 1994 was then compounded when in April 2018 you and your husband Gary found the same man had taken the life of another young woman. Only a few days later you found Gary dead.”

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Groomsman Paul Wilson (left), with newly married couple David Bain (right), and Liz Davies (centre), after their wedding ceremony in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied

He also addressed Tuxford’s family.

“I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say our hearts ache for you all. The pain you must’ve suffered and the pain you’re still suffering must be profound.”

The court then heard personal statements from both families.

Schroder family spokeswoman Jenny Keoghan said the family’s nightmare began on May 18, 1994.

“Twenty-nine years later unfortunately here we still are with so many unanswered questions. This battle has been arduous, heartbreaking, exhausting, traumatic, and left us mentally and emotionally scarred, to say the least.”

Keoghan said the many documents, parole board hearings, investigations and testimonials were “embedded in our minds”.

“[They] leave no doubt for us that this inquiry and its outcomes should leave no stone unturned in working out what went wrong.”

Every year from 2007 to 2010 the family had to come up against the parole board to fight to prevent Wilson’s release. Each year, the family was “retraumatised” to provide statements to reinforce why Wilson should not be released.

“No one knew Wilson as we had. Our own experiences through the relentless support we gave him, only to be repaid in the lies he told us, the deceit of his actions, and the calculated way he lived this double life to feign sympathy from those around him. Have no doubt in your mind this has left long-lasting emotional, and mental impact in many ways we will never recover from.”

Keoghan said Wilson’s “manipulative behaviours” and concerns raised were “eventually ignored” and he was granted parole.

“We were a voice that mattered, that matters, that should have mattered. How could these red flags that were so obvious to us be ignored by those engaged in his treatment and recommendations of support by considered... it was soul destroying.

“Our only words having lost this battle to them were – if you release him, he will do this again.”

Hearing about Tuxford’s death was “too much” for Gary Schroder to continue to bear after fighting for so long, she said.

Since Tuxford’s death the family had spent many hours reviewing all the evidence from his time in jail.

“Within that material sits vital information chosen to be ignored,” she said.

The families were “united” in their pursuit for a full investigation.

“We deserve answers, not only for ourselves but to prevent any future failures... so no other families have to experience these heartbreaking circumstances.”

In January next year Kimberly Schroder would’ve been turned 50. She was killed at 21, “never able to experience life as it should be”.

“Our only comfort being she’s with her dad Gary, united again.

“This is the worst nightmare any parent should ever have to experience. Our knowledge mattered and it should never have been silenced, nor ignored.”

Nicole Tuxford’s mother Cherie Gillatt also read a statement to the court.

She said it still felt like yesterday when she was told her “precious daughter” had been killed.

“Nicole was a bright start who was shining as she found her place in this world... she was a young lady full of life and love.”

All Tuxford wanted to do was help people, she said.

“That was the sort of person she was, always caring, kind... Her laughter was so infectious.”

Her last conversation with her daughter was the night before she died. The conversation ended with Gillatt telling her daughter she loved her.

Gillatt said the justice system, Corrections, and the Parole Board were “all broken”. She said both her daughter’s death and Gary Schroder’s suspected suicide were preventable.

“If there is one thing I can do for Nicole it’s to help make sure this doesn’t happen again,”

“She matters. She was the world to me. We mustn’t leave any stone unturned.”

Tuxford’s father, Stephen Tuxford, said no day went by where he didn’t think of his daughter.

The outcomes of the inquest would not give him any closure or justice he said.

“The only positive thing that could happen is that it doesn’t happen to another family.”

Tim Mackenzie, barrister assisting the Coroner, said there were several issues that would be examined regarding Gary Schroder’s death including if it was a suicide, what extent the decision to take his own life could be attributed to Wilson’s killings.

The steps police took to provide support to the Schroder family after informing them of Tuxford’s death and what the current police policy and processes are in relation to the provision of such support would also be looked at.

In relation to Tuxford’s death the Coroner will be looking at the accuracy and adequacy of information provided by Corrections through its psychological services that were relied on by the Parole Board.

The Coroner will also look at how Corrections identified and managed the risk that Wilson would reoffend.

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