Gary Edward Ladbrook
Murderer
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- New Zealand
- Location
- New Plymouth, Taranaki Region, New Zealand
- Date of birth
- 1956
- Age at first offence
- 36
- Characteristics
- rape
- Victim profile
- Nora Sole, 83
- Method of murder
- Suffocation
- Date(s) of murder
- February 7, 1992
- Years active
- 1992
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Released
Sentenced to life in prison April 1993; Released June 2003
Case record
Other details
Gary Edward Ladbrook was jailed for life after he raped and suffocated Mrs Sole in her New Plymouth home on February 7, 1992. Nora Sole’s family were forced in the week of June 21, 2003 to relive the horrific way the 83-year-old grandmother was murdered 11 years earlier. Ladbrook went before the Parole Board in Christchurch on Thursday. Perry Sole said reliving his mother’s death was extremely emotional, saying: "I thought I had dealt with things but I hadn't. I just buried it and now it's come back to the surface."
Mrs Sole’s family opposed Ladbrook’s parole because they said there had been no rehabilitation to control his "sexual deviation". Ladbrook, who was now in his mid-40s, had failed to accept responsibility for his actions and should stay in prison, the family said. The murder and rape of Mrs Sole, who lived alone, horrified the community. Ladbrook was the first person in New Zealand tracked down by DNA evidence.
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