Dean Wickliffe

Who is Dean Wickliffe?

Dean Hugh Tekahu William Wickliffe is a notorious New Zealand criminal and prison escapee. He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice. He was New Zealand's longest-serving prisoner.

Wickliffe was convicted of murdering Paul Miet in during an armed robbery in 1972, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter based on Wickliffe's claim that he had not meant to hurt anyone. This decision was criticized by Supreme Court Judge Sir Trevor Henry because Wickliffe was armed with a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol.

In 1998 his conviction for murdering Bay of Plenty man Richard Bluett was quashed and he was acquitted at a retrial.

His personal story was used by MP David Garrett for political purposes in 2008.

In April 2010 Wickliffe was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment for drug and firearms offences committed in March 2008. In December 2011, six months after his release from that prison term, he was arrested for manufacture and possession of methamphetamine for supply and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in March 2012 and he will only serve two years due to his illness.

It has been announced that he has terminal prostate cancer that is likely to kill him in 2014.