Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 14
High Court Blocks 66-Year-Old Glyn Razzell's Parole in 2002 Wife Murder Case
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 14

High Court Blocks 66-Year-Old Glyn Razzell's Parole in 2002 Wife Murder Case

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 14

Summary

  • Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb overturned the Parole Board's April decision to free Glyn Razzell, ruling his risk had not fallen enough for offender management to keep the public safe.
  • The Ministry of Justice had referred the case to the High Court, arguing release would undermine confidence in parole and that the board had failed to assess Razzell's risk properly.
  • Razzell, jailed for life in 2003 for murdering his wife Linda after she vanished in Swindon in 2002, has never revealed where her body is despite repeated parole bids.
  • His 2021 refusal made him the first prisoner denied parole under Helen's Law, which requires boards to weigh a killer's refusal to disclose a victim's remains.
  • The ruling is the first use of the justice secretary's power to ask the High Court to overturn a Parole Board release decision.

Insights

Could the High Court's intervention under Helen's Law permanently end parole hopes for killers who hide their victims?
Why did the Parole Board initially deem a deceitful killer safe for release despite his refusal to reveal his wife's hidden remains?
What chilling psychological need for control drives a convicted murderer to keep his victim's location a secret for over two decades?