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<\/p>\nA murderer has stunned his victim\u2019s family by finally admitting he deliberately killed his wife \u2013 after more than a decade of insisting it had been an accident.<\/p>\n
Horse breeder Greg Meads has confessed to a parole board that he murdered mum-of-three Helen at their farm just four days after she told him she was leaving him.<\/p>\n
It has taken 13 years, but Meads now admits he pulled the trigger deliberately, and that he takes responsibility for the shocking crime.<\/p>\n
The brutal killing took place in the town of Matamata, New Zealand, on September 23, 2009, soon after Helen had announced she wanted to end their 12-year marriage, reports the New Zealand Herald.<\/p>\n
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Meads denied murder, saying the gun had gone off accidentally, but the jury didn\u2019t believe him and he was given a life sentence. He was told he would serve a minimum of 11 years before being eligible for parole.<\/p>\n
His bid for early release was rejected last year because it was deemed the killer remained a risk to the public \u2013 and he was still maintaining his innocence.<\/p>\n
But yesterday he changed his story.<\/p>\n
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"I killed Helen, I was the person who pulled the trigger and I am fully responsible for her death," he told the parole board.<\/p>\n
"Yes, it was a deliberate act. I raised the gun and I pulled the trigger."<\/p>\n
He also admitted abusing and physically assaulting Helen during their time together.<\/p>\n
Under questioning from the board, Meads said his change of story came after he'd had "quite a lot of time to go through the incident" in his own head and with his psychiatrist, reported the Herald, which was allowed to attend the hearing.<\/p>\n
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Board chairman Sir Ron Young asked Meads: \u201cYou've told untruths for 13 years. Why should we rely on what you're telling us now when for the past 13 years it's been a lie? You didn't wake up this morning and go 'Oh, that's right, I pulled the trigger'."<\/p>\n
Meads replied that that until the previous night he had "probably avoided" revisiting the moment he killed Helen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's not an accident, I admit that now. It is a change,\u201d he said. "I think it was deliberate that I grabbed the trigger and that was the end of Helen's life."<\/p>\n
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Sir Ron said the sudden admission was "worrying" and he wasn\u2019t convinced of its sincerity. "But if it is [genuine], good on you," he added.<\/p>\n
Meads put forward a plan to the board that he said showed he would pose no danger if he were released, but it was ruled he was not ready to be let out, despite his admission of guilt.<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t get another chance to make his case until next April.<\/p>\n
Following the shock twist, Helen\u2019s dad David, 77, told the Herald he was relieved the bid for freedom had been turned down \u2013 even though he had previously supported the idea of letting Meads out.<\/p>\n
"Everything about it is just so goddamn insincere," David said.<\/p>\n
"It is the first time he's admitted it, it's taken 13 years to get here and he did it overnight. I think he's worked out that if he doesn't start saying the right words \u2013 whether he believes them or not \u2013 he's in prison for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n