Killer is released without victim’s family being told... and now he’s on run
A CONVICTED killer has gone on the run just weeks after being freed from jail – as it emerged his victim’s family did not even know of his release.
Mark Woolley, 52, is the subject of a nationwide manhunt after breaching the terms of his parole by failing to keep in touch with probation officers.
The killer, who ran over BBC costume designer Elizabeth Sherlock in April 2001, served almost 17 years before being freed on life licence in November.
He was supposed to have been under supervision but was last seen by probation officers on January 31.
Woolley mowed down Mrs Sherlock outside London’s Euston Station while acting as a getaway driver for his girlfriend Jackie Moorehouse after she stole the designer’s handbag.
The 42-year-old victim, who worked on shows including Comic Relief and Last of the Summer Wine, had given chase and jumped on to Woolley’s car bonnet to try to stop him driving Moorehouse away.
But he sped off at 50mph with her clinging to the windscreen wipers and pleading for her life before she was thrown in the air and then run over.
As Mrs Sherlock lay dying Woolley continued driving, later abandoning the vehicle.
Last night, it emerged that Mrs Sherlock’s sisters Janet, 67, and Susan, 69, had not even been made aware of Woolley’s release, let alone the fact he was on the run.
A source close to the family said: ‘Both sisters are shocked. They know they don’t keep murderers in prison for life anymore – but had not even been informed he was out of jail.’
Mrs Sherlock’s widower Peter, who is not believed to be in contact with his late wife’s family, said he had been made aware of the situation by police but did not wish to comment.
Mr Sherlock, who has since remarried and moved to a different part of the country, added: ‘He doesn’t know where I live so I feel safe.’ Ministry of Justice guidelines show prisoners released on life licence are not normally the subject of electronic tagging apart from in ‘very exceptional cases’.
‘This is because the risk of harm to public safety must be reduced to an acceptable level before the Parole Board will authorise release,’ an internal document states.
The Ministry of Justice yesterday declined to reveal what surveillance Woolley was under at the time of his disappearance, saying it ‘does not comment on individual arrangements’.
A spokesman said: ‘ Offenders released on licence are subject to a strict set of conditions, and anyone breaking these faces being immediately returned to prison. When an offender absconds the police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender.’
Last night David Hines, who founded the National Victims’ Association after his 23-year- old daughter Marie was murdered in 1992, described the situation as ‘an absolute joke’.
‘A life sentence should mean killers being monitored for the rest of their lives after their release,’ he said.
‘The fact Woolley has been able to disappear shows the authorities are failing in this, letting the public down.
‘Not giving information on individual cases is just because they don’t want the public to know what is going on and what’s gone wrong.’
The Metropolitan Police said Woolley – who was a heroin user and had scores of previous convictions, mainly for drug-related dishonesty – was last seen on January 31 at a probation meeting in Hackney, East London.
They said Woolley is 5ft 4in, of slim build with greying hair, has several tattoos and scars on his forehead, jaw and left ear. He is known to frequent the north London boroughs of Camden and Islington.
Police have warned anyone who sees Woolley not to approach him and instead ring 999 immediately. When caught, he is set to be recalled to jail.
Mrs Sherlock was known in the entertainment industry by her maiden name Liz Nicholls.
Speaking after the murder, her friend and fellow BBC costume designer Linda Martin said: ‘She would never have let any scum take her bag without a fight. She would have fought to the last.’