12 Mar 2013

Nia Glassie's mother again refused parole

2:19 pm on 12 March 2013

The mother of murdered Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie has again been turned down for parole.

The three-year-old girl died in 2007 after a prolonged period of abuse which included being spun in a tumble drier.

Her mother Lisa Kuka is serving a nine year sentence for manslaughter, on the basis of failing to protect her.

The Parole Board says she has been in custody for five years, and has been a good, compliant prisoner.

The board says it has taken Kuka a long time to come to terms with her responsibility for the death of her daughter, but she is now going to do a programme designed for those who offend against children.

But it says she remains an undue risk to the safety of the community at this time, and can come before the Board again in 12 months time.

In 2008 brothers Wiremu and Michael Curtis were convicted of Nia Glassie's murder and the following year they were given life sentences with a minimum non-parole periods of 17-and-a-half years.