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Offender Database
Peter Davis
.
Murdered Sarah Jane Curry, aged just 8 after having unlawful sexual connection with her in January 1992.
Also has a previous rape conviction from 1987
Sarah Jane Curry
.
none known
Born May 1951
Prison
Sentenced to a ten year "life" sentence in June 1992
Parole application rejected May 2011
Has another hearing May 2014
Background
From NZ Herald story June 2010
Davis raped and stabbed 8-year-old Invercargill Sarah Jane Curry to death in 1992.
Parole Board decision is detailed here
His release on parole is being fought not only by the victim's family but the offenders' own son! See below. A postponement order was lodged at his August 2011 hearing which declines his being considered for parole and the victims facing the trauma of another parole hearing for at least three years. We congratulate the Parole Board for this sensible decision!
His own son, Frank Davidson has campaigned to keep this offender behind bars as he regards him is iredeemably dangerous, quite rightly. Unfortunately he has been unjustly accused of some of his fathers crimes, and has had to clear his own name.
From the Southland Times
The man who raped and murdered eight-year-old Invercargill girl Sarah Curry will appear before the Parole Board early this year. Peter George Davis raped Sarah Curry before strangling her and leaving her body in a reserve on the side of Bluff Road on January 21, 1992. Davis, then 44, was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder and preventive detention for sexual violation.
He will appear for parole early this year on the life imprisonment term, although preventive detention means he can be released from prison only with special approval from the Secretary of Justice. Eleven years after her death, Sarah Curry's family and police involved in the case are preparing to fight for Davis' continued incarceration. Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Hewitt, of Invercargill, said yesterday he had already made a written submission to the Parole Board.
"The police involved in the case have the right to make submissions and I have certainly made one. The board must believe he is not fit for society. "I don't expect he will get paroled," Mr Hewitt said. The board yesterday refused to confirm a date for the hearing except to say Davis "will be seen." Davis has a previous rape conviction from 1987. He was handed a five-year jail sentence for that crime and was released from prison early.
A Curry family member who did not want to be named said yesterday she would oppose the convicted killer's parole. "We will be opposing it ... if he did get out, the town where he goes to live would have to be made aware that he was present. You can't trust him around anyone and you don't want him around your kids. "He took away an innocent life." Sarah's parents, Brian and Shona Curry, could not be contacted yesterday.
Also from the Southland Times
The son of convicted murderer Peter Davis will fight to keep his father locked up.
Frank Davis said he's suffered a lifetime of abuse because of his father's crimes, and he's desperate to put his case before a Parole Board hearing which will decide his father's fate early this year. Peter George Davis raped and murdered eight-year-old Invercargill girl Sarah Curry on January 21, 1992. Her body was found in a reserve beside Bluff Road.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder, and preventive detention for sexual violation.He will appear for parole this year on the life imprisonment term, though preventive detention means he can be released from prison only with special approval from the Secretary of Justice.
Frank Davis, who now goes by a different name and lives overseas, is disappointed in a justice system that failed to notify him about his father's parole hearing. "He shouldn't get a chance at parole. He has pets in his cell, he's living it up, but the Curry family can't do that or get over it ... Even if he wasn't my father, I would dispute it. I will fight against it (parole) every time," Frank Davis said.
"In my eyes, when my old man killed and raped an eight-year-old girl, the death penalty should have been used to save the family of the victim some grief and to allow others to get back into their living." A spokeswoman for the Corrections Department, which handles Parole Board business, said yesterday only police and people on the Victim Notification Register had to be notified of a Parole Board hearing. However, even if a person was not notified, they could still make a submission to the board.
Invercargill police were yesterday working with Frank Davis to find an appropriate contact for the Parole Board. Now in his late 20s, Frank Davis has spent the past few years overseas, trying to leave behind the demons of his father's crimes.
"When someone has done three crimes of this nature, why is our Government so soft, and laying back to allow these types of monsters back out on the street to act like the world is their playground for evil?" Peter Davis has a previous rape conviction from 1987. He was handed a five-year jail sentence for that crime and was released from prison early.
Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Hewett, of Invercargill, said police had already submitted written opposition to Davis' parole. A family member of Sarah Curry said she would be opposing the parole. "If I was to meet up with him face to face, I would tell him he was some kind of monster, some kind of animal. "He took away an innocent life."
Also from the Southland Times
The man convicted of raping and murdering Invercargill schoolgirl Sarah Curry will remain behind bars for another three years.
Peter George Davis appeared before the extended Parole Board on June 19 but a Corrections Department spokeswoman said yesterday his application had been rejected and a postponement order made. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and preventive detention after he was convicted of strangling Ms Curry and leaving her body in a reserve on the side of Bluff Rd in January 1992. He appeared for parole on the life imprisonment term. However, preventive detention means he can only be released from prison with special approval from the Secretary of Justice.
Davis had a previous rape conviction from 1987, for which he was handed a five-year jail sentence. He was released early for that sentence. In his decision Parole Board panel convener Judge David Carruthers said the board had received several statements from the Curry family, opposing parole for Davis. The victim statements were discussed with Davis and made available to him but he declined to read them, Judge Carruthers said. "He says he was aware of the attitudes, but he did not wish to read what had been said by victims." An independent psychological assessment into the risk of Davis reoffending and what could be done to reduce or alleviate it was expected to be presented at the hearing. However, the report had not yet been started, Judge Carruthers said.
At his last appearance before the board Davis was given notice of the possibility of a postponement order being made, the judge said. "A large part of this was to prevent the victims having to respond to the possibility of parole every year in a way which has brought great distress to them having regard to their losses. He understands that distress and he understands their position." It was recognised Davis had a long way to go before he could be released and taking that into account it was decided to make a postponement order for three years, Judge Carruthers said. "The sexual aspect of his offending may have been addressed by what has happened in the past, but nothing to do with his violence has yet had the same confrontation or assistance," he said. "He will not be seen by this board again until the expiry of that time. That is in no way signalling a release for him."
