Female murderer recalled to prison (NZPA)

A convicted murder freed on parole after "dramatically" turning her life around has been recalled after forming a relationship with a man who murdered a prostitute. Michelle Richards, convicted under her married name Nicholson, and her 18-year-old lover, Robert Smith, were found guilty of murdering businessman Dennis Hind at his Temuka home in January 1997. Richards and her three children were living with Mr Hind, who had changed his will in her favour, when she convinced Smith to murder him by repeatedly stabbing him while he was in his bed. The Parole Board found Richards was convicted of a cold, calculated murder but said that while in prison she had studied extra-murally and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in psychology and sociology, one of a handful prisoners to do so while incarcerated. She was... [read full story]