Convicted double murderer Leith Ray recalled back to prison due to threatening charge

Margaret and Jock Jamieson at their home in Swanson, Auckland hold a photo of Margaret’s parents John and Josephine Harrisson. Photo / Greg Bowker

Convicted double murderer Leith Rex Ray who gunned down an elderly Waikato couple 27 years ago has been recalled to prison after allegedly reoffending while on parole.

However, family of the victims are now preparing to lay a complaint with the Parole Board.

They believe Ray has been living in Hamilton, and believe they should have been told. But the Parole Board says the family received letters outlining the conditions of his parole.

Ray, now aged 46, and Gresham Kirsten Leith Marsh, shot dead John and Josephine Harrisson in their Te Akau home near Ngāruawāhia on June 1, 1994.

John, 83, and Josie, 74, were woken by the pair. As John tried to call police, he was shot in the back.

Leith Rex Ray was convicted of the murders, along with Gresham Marsh, of Te Akau Couple John and Josephine Harrison in 1994. Photo / Supplied

John was eventually shot four times and Josie was shot in the head twice as she lay in bed.

The killers fled after rummaging through the couple’s home and stealing jewellery, money and their car.

Ray was first released in February 2016 but recalled just weeks later after admitting breaching his conditions after testing positive for methamphetamine use.

He was recalled to prison and spent another two years behind bars before being released again in February 2018.

One of his many release conditions included that he not enter the township of Te Akau, or North of the Bombay Hills, South Auckland. His parole decision doesn’t mention Hamilton.

Ray appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of knowing that his conduct was likely to frighten a woman. Police allege he threatened to injure her.

Duty lawyer Shayne Lawrey handed Ray, sporting short spiky hair and a black T-shirt, the summary of facts relating to the charge, he screwed up his nose and shook his head as he read what was alleged to have occurred.

Corrections was also successful in its recall application to get Ray back behind bars.

Community magistrate Ngaire Mascelle entered his plea and remanded him in custody to reappear in March.

Gresham Marsh pictured after being arrested in 1994.

The offence is alleged to have occurred on Saturday in Hamilton and carries a maximum penalty of three months’ prison or a $2000 fine.

The Harrissons’ daughter, Margaret Jamieson, was 47 when her parents were brutally murdered.

She and her husband Jock now live in Auckland.

Jock Jamieson told the Herald that while they had been contacted by Corrections on Sunday about the latest charge and subsequent recall, they were unaware that Ray appeared to have been living and working with family in Hamilton.

The Herald knocked on the door of the Hamilton home listed on court documents where Ray was staying, and a man declined to comment.

Jock said he would now be writing a letter to the Parole Board to ask what was happening.

“We didn’t get any details exactly of what he had allegedly done, it was a threatening behaviour charge, but we weren’t told anything else.

“I think in light of what you’ve told me I’m going to ring [the Parole Board] and tell them I’ve been told that he’s living in Hamilton.”

He also didn’t know that Ray had been working as a truck driver in the Waikato either, or living with a relative.

Leith Rex Ray entered a not guilty plea to a charge of threatening behaviour to a woman in Hamilton on Saturday. Photo / Belinda Feek

“No, we don’t get told these things.

“Because the offence was in Te Akau, which is out Ngāruawāhia way, one of the conditions was not to be in the area. Whether his conditions have changed since he has been released I’m not sure.

“We’re the victims, we get told less than anyone. You know how the system works.”

But a Parole Board spokeswoman said Ray had been banned from entering Te Akau or north of the Bombay Hills, South Auckland, without a probation officer’s permission since being paroled in 2018.

In October last year there was a variation to his conditions, which also banned him from entering the Bay of Plenty.

There did not appear to be any conditions relating to Hamilton, the spokeswoman said.

“It appears, from looking at our records that Mr and Mrs Jamieson have received letters from the Parole Board outlining the conditions of parole, including last year’s variation.

“If found guilty of his current charges it is up to the courts to determine the length of sentence and any parole eligibility date will be calculated from there.”

Ray’s co-offender Marsh was released on parole in August last year, to the horror of the Jamiesons who fear for their safety.

They have been in a battle with Corrections to get an updated photo of Marsh, who they hadn’t seen since his sentencing in the Hamilton District Court in 1994.

“At one stage the Parole Board told us that he had got married. It was not long after he was released, really, and we thought ‘wow’ … and then we did hear that that relationship was all over and there was even doubt that there was a marriage.

“But he certainly had a relationship and that’s now over.”