Doctor Ian William Dallison has been sentenced in the High Court after previously pleading guilty to the attempted murder of Alberto Ceccerelli. Photo: The Press
A Christchurch eye surgeon who attempted to murder his former business landlord has been granted parole.
After being declared bankrupt on 4 August, 2022, prominent doctor Ian Dallison stormed into the Lyttleton home of Alberto Ceccarelli and attempted to shoot him while he was eating dinner with his wife, Antje Schmidt.
Dallison was jailed for almost seven years in 2023.
A Parole Board spokesperson confirmed Dallison appeared before the board on Monday and was granted release.
He will be released next month.
It was earlier revealed Dallison had been in an intimate relationship with District Court Judge Jane Farish.
Farish was Dallison's girlfriend at the time of his attack on Ceccarelli and Schmidt.
Dallison was armed with nine guns and 167 rounds of ammunition when he drove to the couple's home in St Davids Street, according to the police summary of facts.
He had been declared bankrupt in proceedings brought by Ceccarelli, to whom he owed a large amount of money for failing to pay the rent at his commercial building.
He fired a Ruger semi-automatic pistol at Ceccarelli, with the bullet narrowly missing the businessman's head, lodging itself in the doorframe over his right shoulder.
Ceccarelli and Schmidt then rushed Dallison, sparking a violent scuffle, during which Dallison gouged Ceccarelli's eye.
The Supreme Court earlier ruled media could report the relationship between Dallison and Farish.
The court said it was accepted Farish knew nothing of Dallison's plans and had no involvement in the offending.
She knew Dallison for years before beginning a romantic relationship with him in 2012.
They maintained separate homes throughout the relationship and she had only stayed at his house once in the year before his rampage.
'Severely violated'
At sentencing Crown prosecutor Claire Hislop read victim impact statements on behalf of Alberto Ceccarelli and his wife Antje Schmidt, who recounted the horror of having their home invaded by an armed Dallison on 4 August, 2022.
"Our security and our home have been severely violated."
Dallison entered Ceccareli's Lyttleton home at about 7.40pm while he and Schmidt were eating dinner.
The court heard how Dallison fired a Ruger semi-automatic pistol, the bullet narrowly missing Ceccerelli's head, lodging itself in the doorframe over his right shoulder.
Both Ceccarelli and Schmidt then rushed Dallison, sparking a violent scuffle.
According to Ceccarelli's victim impact statement, he was still feeling the effects of the fracas where Dallison gouged his eye.
"Previously I had no issues reading brief things, like an email for instance, but now I can only read a few lines at a time and have to stop.
"When I'm working in the day, the daylight is too bright and it offends my sight so I have to block the sunlight out by having my blinds pulled down.
"I still suffer daily with headaches, which I have to use Panadol."
Ceccarelli said he felt "anxious" and admitted it was difficult to think about the future, in relation to the eventual release of Dallison.
Schmidt was drawn into the attack and struck several times on the back of the head by the butt of Dallison's gun.
"I have difficulties falling and staying asleep due to the pain of my head injuries and anxiety. It is agony to put my head down on a pillow to sleep.
"I have difficulty of concentration, feeling constantly distressed and on edge, feeling lightheaded and nauseous, constant headaches. I become very jumpy, tense and jittery."
The court heard Dallison was a commercial tenant of Ceccarelli, the former owing the latter's trust about $250,000 in unpaid rent and expenses.
Defence lawyer Paul Borich conceded Dallison worked himself into a state on the day of the attack and behaved "irrationally" after being declared bankrupt hours earlier.
"His behaviour on this day was extreme - he did not look to others for help, nor did he take what advice had been given.
"Being bankrupt was the final straw and he completely and totally lost the plot."
Justice Andru Isac however told the court there was a high degree of premeditation and his actions were "inexplicable".
He said Dallison wrongly blamed Ceccarelli for his own financial woes and had established a pattern of not dealing with civil disputes reasonably.
"You don't take kindly to anyone with whom you have a financial dispute, be it former spouses, family or business partners.
"In such situations you have said to become arrogant, irrational, angry and uncompromising, some might describe such behaviour as entitled."
Isac said unlike many defendants who appear in front of the court, Dallison had lived "a privileged life".
He also pointed to other factors such as the Canterbury earthquakes and diminishing demand for laser treatment resulted in falling profitability of Dallison's practice.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
