Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
A man found guilty of murdering a man whose body was dismembered has an extensive criminal history including introducing a 14-year-old girl to prostitution, taking her money and then administering her morphine and having sex with her, it can now be revealed.
On Thursday, Michael Scott Rodger was found guilty of murdering Richard Leman, whose torso was found in the boot of his own car parked at an abandoned house in Rangiora in April 2023.
Leman's head, legs and arms were still missing.
With the guilty verdict, a suppression order was revoked allowing RNZ to reveal that Rodger previously went by the surname Holdem and has an extensive criminal history which the jury was not informed of.
In 1999, Holdem and his co-accused were jailed in the High Court at Christchurch for eight years after pleading guilty to representative charges of living off the earnings off prostitution, sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 and above the age of 12, and administering morphine.
Do you know more? Email [email protected]
Court documents seen by RNZ, state the girl was 14 when she met Holdem and his co-defendant.
Through her involvement with them she began to use morphine which was administered by them. The two men introduced the girl to prostitution as a means of supporting her drug addiction, a court of appeal decision in 2020 said.
The two men took her "considerable earnings f
Continue Reading on RNZ
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.