‘Lynette’s murderer can safely be moved to open jail’
MOVING one of Wales’ most notorious murderers to an open prison would be safe, according to Parole Board documents.
Jeffrey Gafoor was sentenced to life in 2003 after advances in DNA technology linked him with the 1988 murder of sex worker Lynette White, 20, who was stabbed more than 50 times at her docklands flat in Cardiff.
A summary of a Parole Board hearing from February 10 this year states that, while professionals working with Gafoor agreed he should not be released on licence, transferring him to an open prison could now be “safely made”.
The document, seen by the PA news agency, states: “After considering the circumstances of his offending, progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel were not satisfied that Mr Gafoor was suitable for release.
“However, on assessing the benefits and risks of Mr Gafoor transferring to open conditions, the panel recommended that he should be progressed and tested in this way.
“It is now for the Secretary of State to decide whether he accepts the Parole Board’s recommendation. Mr Gafoor will be eligible for another parole review in due course.”
The review – the third since Gafoor became eligible for release in March 2016 – was told that the killer would be “overwhelmed” if returned immediately to the community, and the board considered a risk assessment plan “was not complete or robust enough” to safely manage him in it.
The hearing was told that Gafoor’s risk factors at the time of the murder included a “catastrophic loss of control when he experienced intense anger or felt under threat”.
There had also been concerns about his ability to control himself, that he carried weapons, “and had been prepared to use excessive violence”.
But Gafoor’s behaviour was said to have been “consistently good” in prison and he had “reportedly handled some recent difficult situations very well”, with a psychologist advising that no further interventions were necessary.
He was said to have completed “intensive treatment” and demonstrated “learning” while in custody.
Gafoor was jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years at Cardiff Crown Court in July 2003 after pleading guilty to murder when he was 38, confessing to stabbing Ms White with a knife more than 50 times following a row over £30.
At his sentencing, prosecutor Patrick Harrington told the court: “He did not simply kill, he attacked in a barbaric manner, cutting, stabbing and slashing his victim over 50 times, cutting her throat, slashing both wrists, cutting, stabbing and slashing her face, arm and especially the torso.
“It is tempting to talk of the defendant having attacked in a frenzy, but the pattern of distribution of injuries suggests a particular mindset.”
Ms White’s murder originally resulted in three innocent men being jailed in 1990 before their convictions were quashed on appeal in 1992, and a reopening of the case led police to Gafoor 11 years later.
A £30m investigation – Britain’s biggest police corruption probe – was launched into whether 13 South Wales Police officers perverted the course of justice in manipulating evidence, but in 2011 a trial of eight officers collapsed when documents went missing.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Lynette White as they learn of this decision.
“The independent Parole Board conducts a thorough risk assessment before recommending a transfer to open conditions, but the Prison Service retains the ability to return offenders to closed prison at the first sign of any concern.”
A Parole Board spokesman said: “The Parole Board has made the decision not to release Jeffrey Gafoor following an oral hearing but has recommended that he is suitable for a move to an open-conditions prison.
“We will only make a recommendation for open conditions if a Parole Board panel is satisfied that the risk to the public has reduced sufficiently to be manageable in an open prison.
“This is a recommendation only and the Ministry of Justice will consider the advice and make the final decision.”