A convicted killer had no obligation to report intimate relationships with women while he was on parole before he went on to kill again.

Paul Russell Wilson lay in wait for eight hours overnight to murder Nicole Marie Tuxford, 27, inside her own Christchurch home in 2018.

Wilson was sentenced 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 killed former girlfriend Kimberly Schroder in Hokitika – was too much for Schroder’s father.

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

A joint inquest began in November last year and resumed in Christchurch on Monday before Coroner Marcus Elliot with six final witnesses to be called.

The central issues of the inquiry relate to the Department of Corrections’ identification and management of risk of reoffending.

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

Tim Mackenzie, a barrister assisting the Coroner, began on Monday by running over the evidence heard at the first part of the inquest.

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A former probation officer, who has name suppression, who was involved in Wilson’s placement with his workplace then gave evidence.

The probation officer was assigned to work as his probation officer in August 2014. He undertook a review of Wilson’s file, and looked at the police summary of facts for his first murder, his safety plan, Parole Board reports, and his sentence management plan.

He said he understood Wilson’s risk to be around intimate relationships with women.

In March 2015, he contacted Wilson’s employer to make sure he was aware of Wilson’s history and the risks he presented.

The probation officer’s view was his risk related to women in romantic relationships. At the time there was not “anything untoward to be worried about”, he said.

He spoke regularly with Wilson checking in about any intimate relationships he had. In August 2015 he spoke with Wilson about a “lady friend” from Auckland who had rejected him.

After speaking with Wilson and his sister he felt “satisfied” there was no risk.

“He felt he could move forward and he wasn’t ruminating on her.”

The probation officer had earlier contacted the woman to make sure she was aware of Wilson’s history and his risk. She said he was only a friend and was not interested in an intimate sexual relationship with him.

Disclosing intimate relationships was not a special condition of Wilson’s parole.

“His willingness to disclose relied on the relationship and rapport I had developed with him and third-party checks,” the probation officer said.

Paul Wilson, aka Paul Tainui, in court when he was sentenced for Nicole Tuxford’s murder. Photo / Dean Purcell

In February 2016, the probation officer was informed Wilson had abandoned his employment, the risk had therefore increased due to a change in his circumstances.

However, the risk was not considered “undue”, because Wilson was “communicating with me to resolve these issues”.

Wilson had no active criminal charges or no negative feedback from police and his sister was still supporting him, the probation officer said.

On June 9, 2016, Wilson was offered a job at the same place as Tuxford. The probation officer asked Wilson if the company was aware of his offending, and he said it was. The officer also asked if he could talk about his offending with the new employer, which he consented to.

David Bain's groomsman Paul Wilson murdered two women 24 years apart. Photo / NZME

On June 22, 2016, the probation officer contacted Wilson’s new employer.

He claimed he discussed Wilson’s offending with her, that he had murdered his partner, and his risk in relation to intimate relationships.

“I advised if they had any concerns regarding Mr Tainui’s conduct within the workplace to get in contact with me immediately.”

From that date to July 6, 2016, the probation officer’s work with Wilson ceased and he was reallocated and Wilson’s management was handed over to someone else.

In cross-examination by Nikki Pender, acting on behalf of both families, the probation officer said Wilson was “easy to talk to”.

“I believed I developed a reasonable working relationship with him.”

Pender said the director of the company Wilson worked at with Tuxford had earlier told the Coroner he had not raised the risk of intimate relationships.

“I believe I had identified that to her in the phone call, that we were concerned about his risk to relationships to women.”

The comments he claimed he made to the employer were not recorded in his notes, he confirmed.

The probation officer had a good relationship with Wilson’s sister. In her statement to police Wilson’s sister said at some stage after Wilson changed probation officers she changed phones and lost the details of his probation officer. She alleged she asked Wilson for it, and he refused to supply it.

She also told police that a couple of months before Tuxford’s murder she was in the car with him when he received a call from someone called Nicky. Wilson’s sister asked him if they were in a relationship, and he denied it.

Pender asked the probation officer, if given her willingness to discuss and pass on any information, whether losing contact with her was a “lost opportunity”.

“I would agree with that. She was a good support for Mr Tainui, not collusive with him. A good source of information for us.”

Under questioning by James Rapley KC, acting for an employment support services entity, the probation officer accepted that there was nothing Corrections could be about him not disclosing his intimate relationships as he was under no obligation to do so.

The inquest hearing is ongoing.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years