Rage of the ships – Tairua man was angry about the speed of the ships

The Tairua boatman who rammed another boat with his boat says he was angry that the other boat had sped past his boat.

John Dixon, who was jailed in 1979 for murdering a night watchman who refused to loan him money, told Stuff that two boats speeding by on either side of his yacht woke him and his partner Christine from sleep.

He said the wind and the wake from the two boats lifted his yacht and threw it into his boat, puncturing it. He jumped into the sinking boat to chase the other boat.

“I thought I’d give them some of their own medicine and see if they like it, so I made some donuts,” she told Stuff.

“I became an idiot, I lost my cool.”

Dixon said he did not see the children aboard the other ship, but did hear a couple of “babblers.”

In the video of the incident, a woman’s voice was heard telling him: “Damn idiot. Piece of shit.”

He replied, “Piece of shit. You just caused $ 1000 worth of damage … you walk past my boat, swing it if you’re not making five knots.”

His boat was sinking, but in an effort to “splash” the other boat, he misjudged the turn and rammed it again, Stuff reported.

Dixon said he had been dealing with anger his entire life and was kicked out of the house at age 11, spent time in a children’s home and lived on the streets. But he says his life changed after his murder conviction.

A Herald investigation has revealed that Dixon was jailed in 1979 for beating Joseph “Little Joe” Hishon to death after the night watchman refused to loan Dixon money.

Dixon was only 16 years old at the time of the murder and he was one of the youngest killers in the country.

His trial heard accusations that he suffered from severe anger issues and was prone to flare-ups.

Dixon told Stuff that he had a serious heart condition “which includes times when his heart rate increases at high speeds and cannot slow down.”

He said his boat was particularly important for him to get back ashore, as medical help in port could be difficult.

Boat speeding was a constant problem in the area.

The other woman involved in the incident, Tairua School Assistant Principal Catherine Browning, told the Herald that she is now the subject of an employment investigation.

Incident could still lead to removal from prison: expert

Meanwhile, a legal expert says Dixon could face jail time if his actions amounted to an aggravated assault.

Auckland University law professor Bill Hodge told the Herald that if there is a prima facie case that the parolee has anger management issues, he could also be put back behind bars.

“If you have trouble controlling anger [then in my opinion] it still appears to be an undue risk. “

Hodge said that if there was a prima facie argument that Dixon had anger management problems, in his opinion, that would amount to undue risk.

If there were a similar prima facie case that Dixon had committed an assault or aggravated assault by ramming the boat with his inflatable, there was a possibility that Dixon would be called by the Board of Parole, Hodge said.