EXCLUSIVE Former soldier who murdered a mother with a meat cleaver in ‘savage’ killing and never revealed where her body is denied by Parole Board in bid to be set free

•  The rejection of an appeal following a ‘paper review’ is quite rare

A former soldier who murdered and dismembered a mother-of-three and has never revealed the whereabouts of her body is still too dangerous to be released.

Stephen Wynne, then 26, killed sex worker Chantel Taylor with a meat cleaver after picking her up near his home in Birkenhead, in March 2004.

He later admitted to murdering the 27-year-old and was jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court in January 2006.

Wynne got a minimum term of 21 years that was later cut to 18 years by the Court of Appeal, which expired on the July 27, 2023.

Chantel’s remains have never been recovered and her killer refuses to divulge any information to the family or police.

Merseyside Police handout of Stephen Wynne who was refused release on licence by the Parole Board following a ‘paper review’

Wynne was only caught when he tried to torch a mosque in Birkenhead in revenge for the July 7, 2005, London Bombings.

In February 2022, after a court battle, Wynne was moved to an open prison in preparation for his eventual release.

The killer, now 45, had asked the Parole Board to release him on licence, citing his good behaviour in prison.

But, after reading Wynne’s prison files – including reports from officers and psychiatrists – it refused to free him.

The rejection of an appeal following a ‘paper review’ is quite rare and means Wynne did not have the chance to speak.

A written summary of the decision, seen by MailOnline, states that a ‘release plan’ prepared by Wynne’s probation officer was not ‘robust enough’ to manage him in the community.

It states: ‘The plan included a requirement to reside in designated accommodation as well as strict limitations on Mr Wynne’s contacts, movements, and activities. The panel concluded this plan was not robust enough to manage Mr Wynne in the community at this stage.’

The summary provides a graphic insight into Wynne’s warped and dangerous personality when he slaughtered Chantel.

Chantel Taylor, 27, who went missing from her home in Birkenhead, Merseyside in March 2004 was murdered by Stephen Wynne

It states: ‘At the time of his offending, these risk factors had included preparedness to use extreme violence with weapons. Mr Wynne had misused both alcohol and drugs.

‘He had experienced difficulties in managing extremes of emotion, including feelings of anger.

‘Mr Wynne demonstrated poor problem-solving skills, he could act impulsively, not giving sufficient thought to the consequences of his actions.

‘In general, Mr Wynne had not coped well enough with life’s problems.’

The Parole Board was told that Wynne had undertaken accredited programmes to address drug and alcohol misuse, decision making and tendency to use violence.

His progress had been so good that Wynne’s probation officer previously supported his move to open conditions.

Despite this, it was announced yesterday that the Parole Board had refused his request to be free.

It said: ‘After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the other evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public.’

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ‘We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Stephen Wynne following a paper review.

‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.’

Liverpool Crown Court was told that Wynne – who was thrown out of the Army for using cannabis – had been drinking and taking cocaine on the night of the killing in Birkenhead, Merseyside on March 13, 2004.

As he walked home, he was approached by Miss Taylor who agreed to go to his house for sex.

While there they smoked heroin, but when she tried to leave he accused her of stealing drugs off him and struck her in the neck with a meat cleaver.

She died almost instantly and Wynne used a saw to dismember the body before later hiding it in the woods and a local tip.

The court heard that Wynne confessed to striking Chantel to the neck with a meat cleaver because he suspected she tried to steal the drugs. Wynne then dismembered her body and placed it in his loft, but after two weeks, he removed the remains and dumped them at Bidston tip and Royden Park on the Wirral.

He kept her clothing and his bloodstained bedding in a bag in his garden and hid the murder weapon and the tools he used to dismember Chantel encased inside a concrete block.

Despite her mother Jean Taylor making a number of appeals for information about her missing daughter, Chantel’s disappearance remained a mystery for more than a year.

Detectives finally got a break when Wynne was arrested in July, 2005, after setting fire to the Shah Jalal mosque in Borough Road, Birkenhead, in ‘revenge’ for the London bombings the previous year.

He became the prime suspect when a poem about Chantel was found at his home.

Detectives asked Wynne whether he had any information about Chantel’s disappearance and he replied: ‘I killed her.’

Wynne pleaded guilty to murder and also to an offence of arson reckless as to whether life is endangered and was sentenced on January 26, 2006.

Detectives have been unable to recover more than fragments of Chantel’s bones. Her family has been unable to have a funeral.

The judge described the killing as ‘savage in the extreme.’ 

Outside court, mother Jean Taylor said: ‘He’s a cold, callous killer. I’ll see my daughter again in heaven, but he’ll never go to heaven for what he’s done.

‘We’ve never been able to have a funeral.’

In July 2006, London’s Criminal Appeal Court ruled the minimum term was too long and reduced it to 18 years.

Mrs Justice Dobbs concluded that, ‘as nasty as this case was’, the sentencing judge had reached too high a figure when he weighed up the aggravating and mitigating features.

Despite the savagery of his crimes, the Parole Board recommended in July 2022 that Wynne, who is held in HMP Berwyn, should be moved to open prison conditions.

The Ministry of Justice refused to accept the recommendation in April 2022, leading to Wynne bringing a legal challenge over the department’s position.

In a ruling last month, a senior judge ruled in Wynne’s favour, concluding that the Government had provided ‘no good reason’ for rejecting the board’s recommendation.

The Parole Board also recently rejected an appeal from Chantel’s family to have Wynne’s parole hearing heard in public.

In emails to the Parole Board, the charity Families Fighting for Justice said on behalf of her Chantel’s mum, Jean Taylor, that: ‘Chantel Taylor’s life was laid bare in the public domain. All the words from the night of March 13, 2004 were Wynne’s words and Wynne’s words only.

‘He lied and yet Chantel Taylor’s health was out there in the public domain. She was the victim, yet Wynne’s health and certain matters cannot be laid bare.’

Wynne will be eligible for another parole hearing in about two years. This was his second appeal.

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