Double child killer Colin Pitchfork is to be released from prison again, it has been confirmed.
Pitchfork, who has been the subject of TV documentaries and ITV drama Code Of A Killer, raped and killed two schoolgirls in the mid-1980s in Leicestershire.
He became the first person to be convicted thanks to DNA profiling technology and has been behind bars ever since.
Double child killer and rapist, Colin Pitchfork, to be released https://t.co/W8ZcJrWgKX
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 15, 2023
Why is the release of Colin Pitchfork in the headlines?
Fifteen-year-old Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth were the victims of Pitchfork’s heinous crimes. Pitchfork was arrested and tried in 1988. A subsequent psychiatric report said at the time he had a “psychopathic personality disorder accompanied with a serious psychosexual pathology”.
The Lord Chief Justice said at the time: “From the point of view of the safety of the public I doubt if he should ever be released.” However, Pitchfork’s 30-year-minimum sentence was reduced to 28 years on appeal. And, after numerous parole reviews, Pitchfork was released in September 2021.
He was re-arrested and recalled to prison just two months later, however. It came after reports he was approaching young women in the street, breaching the licence conditions of his release.
However, following a hearing held in private in April this year, the Parole Board decided Pitchfork can now be released. He was 22 when he committed his first crime and he’s now aged 63.
The Justice Secretary Alex Chalk could step in within the next three weeks and make a case for him to remain behind bars, though.
A Ministry of Justice source reportedly told The Sun: “Pitchfork was recalled to prison less than two years ago for concerning behaviour. That the parole board think he’s now safe for release is extremely worrying. This will do nothing for public confidence and will only strengthen calls for reform.”
The Ministry of Justice said it would look “extremely carefully at whether to ask the Parole Board to reconsider its decision”.
Victims’ families react
The mother of one of the victims, Barbara Ashworth, said the Parole Board’s 2021 verdict to release Pitchfork was “disappointing”. “And as far as I’m concerned he’s going to be out in amongst the public, so it speaks for itself,” she said. Furthermore, Mrs Ashworth said that he “can’t hurt her any more”.
Earlier today (June 15), she reacted to the latest release news. Speaking to Sky News, Barbara Ashworth said: “It’s diabolical. He’s obviously going to have an urge, we just don’t know what’s in his mind. I don’t think there’s any way he should be walking the streets.”
Lynda’s mother and sister fear that Pitchfork will “kill again”.
How has the case caught the imagination of TV makers?
Because of the groundbreaking nature of the investigation into the murders of Lynda and Dawn, the case has long been the subject of true crime documentaries and dramas.
During the 2000s, the documentary series Real Crime and How I Caught A Killer both told the story of how Pitchfork was brought to justice.
Furthermore, in 2014, ITV released a drama series called Code Of A Killer. Starring John Simm and David Threlfall, it also told the story of the new DNA technology. Additionally, Nathan Wright starred as Pitchfork.
Read more: Shannon Matthews: 12 other unmissable true crime documentaries available on My5
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