KEVIN Naismith, who brutally murdered two men at Charlestown in 1999 and then dumped and burnt their bodies at the Stockton sand dunes, will be released on parole by the end of the month.
After spending nearly 25 years behind bars, Naismith, who turns 55 next week, was on Friday granted supervised parole after a public review hearing in Sydney.
"The NSW State Parole Authority has made a parole order for offender Kevin Paul Naismith, satisfied that refusing parole would be counterproductive for the protection of the community," the authority said in a statement.
The state did not oppose granting Naismith parole, the parole authority said.
But his exact release date is unknown and as part of his parole, Naismith will not be able to return to Lake Macquarie or Newcastle, use drugs, possess a firearm or contact either of the victims' families.
Naismith was jailed for a maximum of 33 years after he was convicted of murdering his best mate Danny Wasley and Mark Banks at Charlestown on August 16, 1999.
The pair were killed - Wasley beaten with a baseball bat and Banks shot - after Naismith claimed he had been "ripped off" over a $13,000 drug deal.
After both men had been killed, Naismith said "good, they are both gone" before he organised for their cars to be dumped at Warners Bay and wrapped their bodies in tarpaulins.
Later that evening he hired a trailer and drove both bodies to the sand dunes at Stockton where they were buried and, over the next two nights, burnt.
"Two persons are dead, one of them supposed to be the prisoner's best friend, and he has shown no remorse or even regret for their deaths," sentencing judge Justice John Dunford said in 2000. "At the time, Wasley's pleas for mercy were ignored and Banks was given no chance."
Naismith was found guilty of two counts of murder by a jury and Justice Dunford later ordered he serve a non-parole period of 25 years, making him eligible for parole on August 24, 2024.
With that date fast approaching, a number of reports were prepared and private meetings and public hearings scheduled to determine whether releasing Naismith on supervised parole was in the best interest of community safety.
"At a public review hearing today, the parole authority accepted the expert advice and recommendations of the Serious Offender's Review Council (SORC) and Community Corrections which supported release to parole," the parole authority said in a statement. "The SORC advised the authority that Naismith has completed his program pathway in custody, has demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation, has participated successfully in external leave including day and weekend leave, and has been employed with positive reports."
According to the SORC, Naismith had "maximised the opportunities provided to him while incarcerated" and Community Corrections said granting him parole now "will provide him with the best opportunity for release, with supports in place to continue his rehabilitation in the community".
"Having considered the expert advice and all material available, the authority panel determined supervised parole as appropriate and in the interests of community safety," the parole authority said.
Naismith will be released sometime between August 24 and August 31 and will remain on parole until August, 2032.
