A SERIAL killer did not understand why people would be so outraged at his execution of a child.

Paul Steven Haigh, 49, was jailed for life with no minimum term after murdering seven people, starting in the late 1970s.
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His victims included a nine-year-old boy and his mother executed in their car.

Haigh is applying in the Supreme Court to have a minimum term set so he can one day apply for parole.

Haigh told his psychiatrist he had to kill the boy because he could identify him.

He also claimed the mother had used the boy as a shield.

Haigh said he couldn't see why that crime was seen as more heinous than the others and he hadn't liked the boy.

"You see I have never had children," he said.

But the court heard he did admit the boy had done nothing to merit dying by his hand.

Haigh has also written a book called "A house of blue light" which analyses his crimes and the character of his victims.

The Sentencing Act says a non-parole period must be set by the court unless it considers that the offending is so serious a minimum term would be inappropriate.

Prisoners sentenced to the maximum term can apply for a minimum, and other lifers, including Frankston triple murderer Paul Charles Denyer, have made successful applications.

But notorious sex fiend Raymond ``Mr Stinky'' Edmunds and ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Russell St bomber Stanley Taylor were refused.

The hearing before Justice Betty King continues.

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