Double child-killer Colin Pitchfork could stay behind bars as Parole Board announces decision to release him will be reconsidered by fresh panel – after he was jailed for life for raping and strangling two 15-year-old girls
- A decision to release Colin Pitchfork from prison will be reviewed by a new panel
- The double killer raped and strangled two 15-year-old schoolgirls in the 1980s
Double child-killer Colin Pitchfork could stay behind bars following news the Parole Board’s decision to release him will be reviewed by a fresh panel.
Pitchfork, 63, was jailed for life in for raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in the 1980s.
He was given a minimum term of 30 years in 1988, but later had it reduced to 28 years for good behaviour and left prison in September 2021.
The murderer was, however, recalled to prison just two months later for approaching a lone female while litter picking.
Now, a June 15 decision to release the killer again is set to be reconsidered, after a judge approved an application for a review by a fresh Parole Board panel.
Colin Pitchfork, 63, could remain in prison following news the Parole Board’s decision to release him will be reviewed by a fresh panel
Colin Pitchfork, 63, was released from prison in September 2021 before being recalled just two months later for approaching a lone female while litter picking
The Parole Board panel ruled on 15 June that the decision to recall him to custody was flawed and that there was no evidence he was pretending to pick litter when he approached the lone female.
In its ruling, the panel said Pitchfork’s behaviour for almost all his time in prison had not caused any concern and that it was no longer necessary for him to be locked up for the public’s safety.
The initial decision will now be reviewed by a fresh Parole Board panel after a judge granted the application for reconsideration on the grounds of irrationality.
The judge said the original panel’s task was a ‘particularly challenging and complex one’.
Pitchfork shocked Britain after raping and strangling Lynda Mann, 15, in Narborough, Leicestershire, in November 1983.
He later murdered Dawn Ashworth, 15, in the nearby village of Enderby three years later, before he became the first murderer to be convicted using DNA evidence.
In police interviews, the killer later admitted exposing himself to over 1,000 women throughout his lifetime.
Dawn Ashworth, pictured aged 14, was raped and murdered by Pitchfork in Enderby, Leicestershire in 1986
Lynda Mann, pictured aged 13, was raped and murdered by Colin Pitchfork in Narborough, Leicestershire, in November 1983
Announcing the review earlier this month, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said it was ‘vital’ that dangerous offenders are kept behind bars.
He added: ‘My thoughts remain with the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, whose lives were changed forever by the heinous crimes of Colin Pitchfork.
‘My number one priority is public protection and after careful assessment I have asked the Parole Board to reconsider their decision to release him.
‘It is absolutely vital that every lawful step is taken to keep dangerous offenders behind bars.’
His intervention came after Conservative MP for South Leicestershire Alberto Costa wrote to Mr Chalk asking him to challenge the parole decision, describing it as ‘simply unthinkable’.
The MP tweeted on Thursday: ‘After very many years of campaigning, I am very relieved that the independent Parole Board has agreed with me that it would be in the public interest to keep double child rapist and murderer Colin Pitchfork in prison.’
The Ministry of Justice had previously said it would look ‘very carefully’ at the move, while a source there described it as ‘deeply worrying’.
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