the Fourth Reich, a Nazi skinhead gang, became a breeding ground for some of New Zealand's most vicious killers.

In the late 1990s, the Fourth Reich, a Nazi skinhead gang, became a breeding ground for some of New Zealand's most vicious killers.

Malcolm George Chaston, 41, was right at its heart.

Yesterday in the High Court in Rangiora, Chaston received one of the harshest sentences in New Zealand history, a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years for murder, and a sentence of preventive detention for two sexual crimes. For his surviving victims, the sentence will provide some relief. But for Vanessa Pickering's family it's far too late.

Chaston's criminal history is long and bloody.

At yesterday's sentencing, Justice French noted Chaston had a "sad and troubled" history. She said he was in and out of boys' homes and eventually ended up on the street.

His offending began 25 years ago and before he murdered Pickering he had 71 convictions, seven of a violent nature. He had used firearms and explosives, attacked prison guards and tried to escape prison.

In January 1989, a teenage Chaston was picked up by a woman while he was hitch-hiking. Over the next three hours, he raped her at knifepoint. He was jailed for eight years.

A decade later, he would tell another female victim about the crime. She told The Press he justified the rape by saying: "She was 24. I knew she'd get over it."

While in prison, Chaston chose the course that would shape his life. In 1994, he was among the co-founders of the Fourth Reich, an extremely violent white power gang.

Over the following years the gang grew in size, both within the prison and eventually on the outside.

Its members would include Leighton Brian Wilding, the master of arms, Neihana Foster, Shannon Flewellen, all of whom would go on to commit murders, motivated by hate.

Other associates of the gang included double murderer Hayden Brent McKenzie and Aaron Howie, also a killer.

Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne McCoy was a member of a team of police who targeted the Fourth Reich in Nelson in the late 1990s.

By that time, the gang had a presence in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Westport and Nelson.

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