The Star: April 13, 2023
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Thursday <strong>April</strong> <strong>13</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
6<br />
NEWS<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Still no progress or empathy:<br />
• By Anna Leask and Daniel<br />
Alvey<br />
THE mother of a Christchurch<br />
schoolgirl who was abducted and<br />
murdered in 1986 is “very happy”<br />
man who did it will remain<br />
behind bars.<br />
Peter Joseph Holdem, now<br />
66, was jailed for life in 1987<br />
for murdering six-year-old<br />
Louisa Damodran near<br />
Christchurch. He will remain in<br />
jail after refusing to participate<br />
in rehabilitative treatment and<br />
making no progress in prison.<br />
And he refused to attend his<br />
own parole hearing after media<br />
applied to attend and report on<br />
proceedings.<br />
Louisa’s mother Aynsley<br />
Harwood told <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> she was<br />
pleased that he will stay in jail.<br />
“I think the most shocking<br />
thing is that he had forgotten<br />
what he did to Louisa,” Harwood<br />
said.<br />
Louisa Bina Damodran was<br />
just days shy of her seventh<br />
birthday when Holdem<br />
kidnapped her as she walked<br />
home from school in October<br />
1986.<br />
She was just 100m from home<br />
when Holdem – who already had<br />
an extensive rap sheet – swiped<br />
her off the street and drove her to<br />
the Waimakariri River north of<br />
the city.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, he throttled Louisa and<br />
drowned her.<br />
Her body was found<br />
downstream three weeks later.<br />
At the time of the murder<br />
Holdem was on parole after<br />
serving time for the 1982<br />
attempted rape of a 10-year-old<br />
in a Christchurch park.<br />
He has a history of sex attacks<br />
on children dating back to the<br />
1970s.<br />
Retired Detective Inspector<br />
Mal Greibel told <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> he still<br />
thinks about the case regularly<br />
and was glad to see the parole<br />
board keep Holdem behind bars.<br />
He remains “absolutely certain”<br />
if Holdem is released he will reoffend.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> thing that worries me is<br />
that if he ever gets out he will<br />
commit another murder,” Greibel<br />
said.<br />
Greibel felt sympathy for<br />
UNREPENTANT: Peter Joseph Holdem in a photo taken on<br />
the day of his arrest for the murder of Louisa Damodran in<br />
1986. Above – leaving the district court.<br />
PHOTO: CHRISTCHURCH STAR<br />
Louisa’s parents, who are left<br />
with uncertainty every two years<br />
when Holdem comes up for<br />
parole.<br />
“I feel deeply sorry for them<br />
with the uncertainty, and<br />
dragging up everything again.’<br />
<strong>The</strong> Parole Board has<br />
repeatedly refused Holdem any<br />
release from prison since he<br />
became eligible for a hearing in<br />
1996, saying he is too dangerous<br />
to the community to be freed.<br />
His most recent hearing was no<br />
different.<br />
Holdem was due to appear<br />
before the board on March 28,<br />
but waived his right to a hearing<br />
stating concerns about media<br />
coverage.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Herald had applied to the<br />
board to attend the hearing and<br />
report on the process, but that<br />
was declined by Parole Board<br />
chairman and panel convenor Sir<br />
Ron Young.<br />
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