Freed, killer who refuses to say where he hid Helen
A KILLER who has never revealed what he did with his victim’s body is to be freed after the Parole Board rejected a last-ditch bid to keep him in jail.
Ian Simms, now 63, snatched 22-year-old Helen McCourt off the street as she walked home in 1988.
The former publican has never disclosed where he dumped Helen’s body despite several pleas from her mother Marie.
Mrs McCourt was horrified last November when the Parole Board recommended Simms should be released.
The move prompted Justice Secretary Robert Buckland to call for an urgent review by former head of the Parole Board Sir David Calvert-Smith.
But Sir David rejected the bid, meaning Simms will be freed on licence in the next few weeks.
His decision was revealed on the same day that new legislation – known as Helen’s Law – that would have kept him inside was introduced to Parliament.
Campaigned
Mrs McCourt, 76, campaigned for three decades for a law to deny freedom to killers who stay silent about the location of their victims’ bodies.
It was set to go on the statute books last year but Parliament was dissolved before it could be passed.
Mrs McCourt said she was shaking with anger when she learned of the Parole Board’s decision in November.
Speaking from her home in Billinge, near St Helens, Merseyside, she said at the time: “I’m in a state of shock. I’m horrified by it. This man is a danger.”
Jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court in 1989, Simms was ordered to serve at least 16 years behind bars. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, he still protests his innocence and has never shown remorse.
Last year the Parole Board said Simms was suitable for release due to factors including the “considerable change in his behaviour”.
During a parole hearing, Helen’s family called on Simms to reveal where he hid her body, but he refused.
A Parole Board spokesman said: “The Parole Board has decided that the original decision to release Ian
Simms should stand.Whilst the Parole Board has every sympathy with Helen McCourt’s family, if the board is satisfied that imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public, they are legally obliged to direct release.”
Mr Buckland said: “The reconsideration of this case by a Parole Board judge is a process independent from Government but we are obviously disappointed with the outcome.
“I understand this will be extremely upsetting for the family of Helen McCourt and my heartfelt sympathies remain with them.
“I hope Helen’s Law, which is now before Parliament, will serve as a lasting legacy to Helen and to the bravery of Marie and her family.”