Hunt for on-the-run murderer, 39, enters a second day after he absconded from open prison 16 years into his life sentence

• Lee Nevins was jailed for life after he murdered a disabled man in his own home
• The 39-year-old remains on the run with links to Gateshead and Northumberland
• Nevins has escaped twice from prison since he was sentenced in 2008 
• Victim’s aunt said word of escape brought back the agony of her son’s murder

The manhunt for a murderer who beat a disabled man to death is still underway four days after he escaped from prison for the second time in 14 years. 

Lee Nevins, 39, is serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of brutally killing Lee Jobling, 20, in his own home in an unprovoked attack in 2006 while high on drugs and alcohol.

Nevins was jailed for life but escaped just two years into his sentence as he was taken from Frankland Prison in County Durham to Sunderland Royal Hospital with an injured hand in 2008.

He went on the run for a week before he was caught in Scotland. An investigation conducted at the time was highly critical of bungling prison staff.

The violent criminal is once again at large after absconding from an open prison in Derbyshire on Tuesday, September 27 nearly 16 years after being convicted of the murder. 

Convicted murderer Lee Nevins (left) is on the run for a second time, after absconding from an open prison in Derbyshire. Right: Victim Lee Jobling

Nevins – who has a string of convictions for other violent attacks – was on temporary licence but failed to return to the category D prison in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire Police say he has known links to Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, and Northumberland.

A spokeswoman on Friday confirmed he is still on the run. 

He is described as white, of slim build, about 6ft tall with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He also has a tattoo of a Tasmanian Devil on his arm.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘HMP Sudbury is working with police to recapture Lee Nevins quickly and on capture he faces longer behind bars.’

HMP Sudbury in Ashbourne is a Category D prison, meaning it has a more relaxed regime and houses prisoners defined as ‘those who can be reasonably trusted not to try and escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison’.

Mr Jobling’s aunt Angela Knotts has blasted officials for allowing Nevins to flee for a second time and said word of his escape has brought back the agony of her nephews’ murder.

Nevins killed Mr Jobling after gate-crashing a party he was having for friends at his home in Gateshead.

Nevins, along with his accomplice Mark Lang, forced their way into Mr Jobling’s flat where they mocked him for being disabled.

The pair then launched a frenzied attack on Mr Jobling who collapsed after being repeatedly punched and kicked in the head.

Nevins and Lang fled the scene leaving Mr Jobling lying unconscious and in a pool of blood in his flat.

Paramedics were called and rushed him to hospital but he died of his injuries three weeks later.

The horror killing came after years of Mr Jobling overcoming the odds to survive a childhood blighted by tragedy.

He was just six when his mum Shirley, who was divorced from his dad, died suddenly from a brain hemorrhage.

Mr Jobling and his two brothers went to live with his aunt and uncle, Angela and Garry Knotts, at their home on Gateshead’s Leam Lane estate.

Then, at just 15 years old, Lee suffered serious head injuries after falling from a bridge while out playing with friends and spent two weeks in a coma.

The accident left Lee with brain injuries, walking with a limp and suffering from memory problems.

Lee Jobling (pictured above) died after a brutal attack from Nevins and his accomplice Mark Lang

With the support of his family, Lee battled on and, although he was not well enough to work in the months before he died, he had moved into his own flat not far from his aunt’s.

On the night of his death, he’d invited some friends over to celebrate his newfound independence. 

At his trial, which was held at Newcastle Crown Court in November 2006, Nevins was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars.

Judge John Milford said: ‘For your own amusement, you bullied him, setting on him and causing his legs to be tied with wire.

‘Later you set about him again, striking no fewer than 12 blows aimed at his head.

‘The attack was prolonged and he was left in a dreadful state.

‘You attacked him so you could derive pleasure from his suffering and suffer he did, of that I am sure. I have observed you throughout this case. Neither of you has shown an iota of remorse.’

When Nevins was last captured after escaping prison in 2008, he was handed  a 12 month prison sentence to run concurrently with his original sentence. 

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