Rota was heavily addicted to then-legal synthetic cannabis and was what a judge would later describe as being in a “drug-induced rage” when he killed King-Mosen.

A decade later, Rota told the board he was a changed man.

“The man I was in 2013 is not the man I am today,” he said today.

“I worked on myself to improve and move forward.”

Rota was asked if he ever thought about his victim.

“Every year around his birthday,” Rota said.

The board also asked him how he thought the King-Mosen whanau viewed him.

“They probably see me as a monster, maybe.”

Rota may have been eligible for early release from prison today, but the commission heard he had broken his work contract in recent years and made several unauthorized stops on his bike while he was outside the prison.

As prisoners near the end of their sentences, they are granted permission to undertake supervised work in the community, which Rota was expected to complete.

However, three stops over multiple days at the same picnic spot, one for a total of eight minutes and another for 16 minutes, saw those privileges revoked.

Rota said his bike had a flat tire twice, in the same place, two days in a row, but the board president was not convinced.

“That seems like a remarkable coincidence, doesn’t it?” » said Sir Ron Young.

“Do you understand how improbable that seems? It seems like an almost unbelievable coincidence.

Rota said he understood why the stoppage would have been a concern for the prison, but he maintained that he suffered two flat tires in a row and immediately reported those stoppages to prison staff.

“I felt I took responsibility from the beginning and explained why I stopped,” Rota told the board.

“I felt like I wasn’t being heard. »

Rota’s attorney, Darien Mahoney, told the commission that because of those checks and the subsequent removal of his work privileges, he was not seeking early release.

Mahoney said if it hadn’t been for those incidents, Rota hoped he would be ready for parole, but he was now focused on regaining the trust he lost.

More and more paranoid

Rota entered King Mosen’s bedroom in Wainuiomata, Wellington, in October 2013 after suspecting his partner had been unfaithful.

He started talking to King-Mason but either misinterpreted something or took offense to the tone used, so he punched him before strangling him with a rope.

During his sentencing, Judge Simon France noted that Rota was heavily addicted to synthetic cannabis at the time and had become increasingly paranoid and distrustful of his friends and family.

The board denied Rota an early release from prison, but urged him to continue doing the work he was doing inside.

It will then be considered by the board in September next year.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice journalist based in Manawatū who covers courts and justice issues with an interest in the courts. He has been a journalist for almost a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.