Hayden Poulter

Hayden Tyrone Poulter (August 1961 – 22 September 2018) was a New Zealand serial killer who murdered three people in Auckland in October 1996. Convicted of all three murders but boasted of committing more, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Following a brief stint out of prison on parole before it was revoked, Poulter killed himself in September 2018 at Whanganui Prison. He has been labelled in the media as New Zealand's first serial killer.

Early life Poulter was born in August 1961, in New Zealand, to a British couple who had migrated to the country. His father was a violent person who left his family and the country, leaving Poulter to be raised by his mother and stepfather. During his teenage years, Poulter spent time in different foster homes where he claimed he was abused. In 1978, Poulter joined the Navy but was later discharged. He went on to work in various jobs including advertising, farming, fishing, shearing, and demolition. Between each job Poulter racked up a string of convictions, reaching sixty-seven in total, however, none of them were for violence. Poulter then robbed, raped, and murdered Hogan by bludgeoning her to death. Her body was later found by a nun walking her dog. When police examined the crime scene, they discovered Hogan had been bashed with two rocks. Six days later, Poulter sent a long letter full of misspellings to the New Zealand Heralds Auckland newsroom. The letter made reference to Hogan's murder, which Poulter claimed was his fourth killing. He also claimed he would kill again and bragged about his crimes.

On 26 October 1996, Poulter entered Cleopatra's, a massage parlour, armed with a large knife. Poulter entered the parlour around 4.20 p.m. and paid $50 for a room with his pick of a Thai woman. He chose Ladda Nimphet and entered a private room with her. When she left to make some coffee, Poulter retrieved his knife and then stabbed Nimphet to death when she returned. The manager of the parlour, Herbert Richard Norris, and another Thai woman who worked there, Angkana Chaisamret, heard screams. As the door swung open a naked Poulter emerged holding a bloodied knife. Poulter then stabbed both Norris and Chaisamret before fleeing the parlour through a second-storey window at the back of the building. All three victims suffered multiple stab wounds. Both Norris and Nimphet succumbed to their injuries but Chaisamret survived. He was again denied parole in 2015 and 2016. In June 2018, after twenty-one years behinds bars, Poulter was paroled for the first time, with the board believing he was no longer a risk. In July, Poulter changed his name to John Leon Lorenzo and moved in with his sister, where he started a landscaping business. He had a long list of parole conditions and his work and address had to be approved. He was also required to undertake drug and alcohol treatment. He was electronically monitored and not allowed to drink alcohol.

Between June and August 2018, there were reportedly no issues, however, by late August 2018, it was reported that Poulter had started taking drugs and was supposedly planning to fake his own death so he could be free of his parole conditions. His probation officer, who was already concerned with some of his behaviour, informed the New Zealand Parole Board, who granted a recall application. On 27 August 2018, Poulter was taken back into custody.

On the day of the recall, Poulter was given a risk assessment in which he denied that he was going to self-harm. He did admit, however, that he wished to speak to a counsellor. On 2 September, an officer attempted to make a referral to a private counselling provider. On 4 September, Poulter was seen by a nurse and he denied any thoughts of self-harm and suicide. The nurse decided the forensic service did not therefore need to be involved. The exact details of the method of death are suppressed. He was 57.