‘No-one is truly safe now Pitchfork is free’
VICTIM’S SISTER BELIEVES FREED MURDERER COULD STRIKE AGAIN
THE sister of one of Colin Pitchfork’s victims says “no one is truly safe”, now the double murderer has been freed.
Rebecca Eastwood, 40, sister of Pitchfork’s first victim, 15-year-old Lynda Mann, says she fears he will strike again.
Pitchfork strangled and raped Lynda while his baby son slept in his car in 1983, before doing the same to Dawn Ashworth, also 15, in 1986.
The 61-year-old was freed from prison last week and is living in a probation hostel at an undisclosed location.
The Mirror reported Rebecca as saying: “He could be living on your street or near your school. I believe he will kill again.”
She said she hoped the Parole Board had not made a mistake in freeing him, but that: “They can’t be 100 per cent certain it is safe.
“You can slap all the restrictions you like on him – but he’s a clever man. If he’s free there’s always a risk.
“There have been mistakes in the past. He is a monster who will never change his ways.”
Pitchfork was the first person to be snared by DNA techniques pioneered at the University of Leicester and was ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years in jail, although that was later reduced on appeal to 28 years.
The former baker was given the green light for release in June from HMP Leyhill, Gloucestershire.
Rebecca, who lives in Liverpool, said news of his release had left her “numb”, adding: “It’s terrifying to think he could be nearby.”
Pitchfork, who was also a flasher, must stick to 40 licence terms – but Rebecca believes he could never be rehabilitated.
She said: “If you’re as predatory as he is, you can’t just switch that off.”
Her main concern is the welfare of her daughter, Emma, eight, “because of what happened to Lynda”.
Rebecca wants to see the parole
system overhauled, branding it “too secretive”.
She said: “Victims’ families should be front and centre of any parole hearing.
“The only justice I hoped for was that Pitchfork would take his last breath behind bars.
“I don’t feel the justice system has protected us. From this day on, I will always be looking behind me.”
A document detailing the Parole Board decision-making earlier this year said: “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was satisfied that Mr Pitchfork was suitable for release.”
The panel considered more than 1,100 pages of information, victim statements and heard evidence from Pitchfork, as well as his probation officers, police and a psychologist.
According to the background document, at the time of his offending Pitchfork thought “about sex a lot”, used “violence and excessive force” and “sex to demonstrate power and control over women”.
He also struggled to cope with anger, loneliness and had a willingness to “seek revenge”.
However, it went on to report that during his time behind bars he has taken part in several courses to address his previous behaviour.
The panel heard Pitchfork’s “behaviour in custody had been positive and had included extensive efforts to help others”, including learning skills to help disabled people, the document said.
His release will be subject to strict licence conditions. He will have to live at a specified address, take part in probation supervision, wear an electronic tag and take polygraph lie detector tests.
He will also have to disclose what vehicles he uses and who he speaks to, while facing particular limits on contact with children.
Pitchfork will be subject to a curfew, have restrictions on using technology and limitations on where he can go.
He will not be allowed near Leicestershire or to any area where members of the victims’ families live.
A Ministry of Justice statement said: “Our heartfelt sympathies remain with the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth following the independent Parole Board’s decision to release Colin Pitchfork.
“Public safety is our top priority, which is why he is subject to some of the strictest licence conditions ever set and will remain under supervision for the rest of his life.
“If he breaches these conditions, he faces an immediate return to prison.”