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Offender Databases James Dahlberg

James Herbert Dahlberg

Alias

.

Offences

Murder of his ex-wife in Nelson in October 1991

Victims

Ann Urquhart

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born December 1941

Current Location

At large

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to a ten year life sentence in mid 1992
Paroled February 2012

Background
NZ Herald story here
Parole Board decision detailed here
From the Nelson Mail December 2006
Convicted murderer James Dahlberg has been denied parole and will spend at least another year behind bars for the 1991 killing of Nelson woman Ann Urquhart. Ms Urquhart's brother, Nelson city councillor Mike Cotton, said he was greatly relieved by the Parole Board's decision. In 1992, Dahlberg was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Ms Urquhart, his estranged wife. The conviction was made largely on circumstantial evidence, after police saw Dahlberg in the area where Ms Urquhart's bloodstained clothes were found in the Golden Downs forest, south of Nelson.

Her body was never found. The Parole Board's decision, made following a November 30 hearing, said Dahlberg, 65, had continued to deny he was responsible for Ms Urquhart's death. "This denial has meant that there has been no ability to address the offending." Dahlberg's extended family had met with the Parole Board, and "generally speaking" had reservations about him being released into the community, including concern for their own safety. The board said it was not satisfied that Dahlberg would not be an an undue risk to the safety of the community if released.

Mr Cotton said justice for victims was often forgotten in New Zealand's sentencing system, and he believed it should be at least 20 years before anyone who had murdered another person should be considered for release. "The critical issue for me, and probably for the rest of the family, is the fact that he won't disclose where Anne's remains are, so we have never had closure, and never had a proper burial of any sort."

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Corrections and Additional Information
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