It has been revealed that the man accused of murdering David McNee was freed from prison less than a month before the killing, having served only half of a two-year prison sentence for an unknown crime. In addition, sources say that 23-year-old Phillip Layton Edwards was in trouble with the police on a further two occasions in the weeks leading up to the murder, with one of these incidents requiring a court appearance. Questions have now been raised as to why someone with a criminal history would have been released after reoffending within days of being paroled. "The government should be very concerned about its procedures and processes that allow violent offenders to be returned to the community in this manner,” says NZ First MP Ron Mark. Edwards was arrested in downtown Auckland on July 28, eight days after David McNee was found bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of his St Mary's Bay home.