Axe murderer and rapist Edward Horrell will probably die in jail

Axe murderer, rapist and former fugitive Edward Horrell will probably die in prison.

Convicted axe murderer and rapist Edward James Horrell went on the lam in 2015 before police caught him in the bush outside Nhulunbuy. Picture: Michael Franchi

AXE murderer, rapist and former fugitive Edward Horrell will almost certainly die in prison before becoming eligible for release unless he can secure a death’s-door grant of mercy from the Territory Administrator.

Horrell, 66, has for years been considered a model prisoner but in 2015 sparked an infamous two-day manhunt around Nhulunbuy when he walked away from a the Datjala work camp and caught a cab to Ski Beach to see family.

Prison sources say Horrell is now in ill health and may not live until March 2022, when he will be eligible for parole.

Justice Peter Barr in 2016 fixed that parole eligibility date, extending by more than seven years the 20 year minimum term Horrell was automatically given when the Martin Labor government abolished so-called “life means life” jail sentences.

In 1994 Horrell murdered his pregnant former partner, Michaeline Hunter. Picture: NT Police

In fixing that date, Justice Barr also rejected an application by Director of Public Prosecutions Jack Karczewski QC that Horrell never be released.

At the time, Justice Barr said he would “publish detailed reasons for this decision … at a later time”.

A court spokesman told the Sunday Territorian Justice Barr’s reasons for his decision were not publicly available.

“Justice Barr has decided that the Horrell decision at this point is just for parties,” the spokesman said.

A judge choosing not to release written reasons for a decision publicly is unconventional, and runs against the principle of open justice.

Police question the Millner neighbours of Ms Hunter after she was found dead with wounds to her head, and her 8-year-old son was also critically injured.

The details of Justice Barr’s secret decision are likely to delve into some of Horrell’s innermost thoughts, Horrell having been ordered in 2015 to be assessed by renowned forensic psychologist and hypnotherapist Associate Professor Stephen Woods.

A Correctional Services spokeswoman said she could not comment on Horrell’s health, but said terminally ill inmates had access to “all available medical treatment and facilities” including palliative care.

Great Samsung Galaxy tablet offer for new 12-month NT News digital subscribers

The spokeswoman said prisoners on death’s door could only be released early if they successfully applied to the Northern Territory Administrator under the prerogative of mercy.

Horrell in 1994 murdered his pregnant former partner, Michaeline Hunter, by repeatedly hitting her in the head with the blunt edge of an axe.

When Justice Barr fixed Horrell’s non-parole period in 2016, one of Ms Hunter’s family members told the NT News she hoped Horrell would never be released.

“He should never get out, we don’t want him out,” she said at the time.

“He’s taken everything away.”

When Horrell escaped in 2015, another of Ms Hunter’s family members told the ABC Horrell “should be in there until he dies.”