Helen McCourt’s mother has asked judges to order a review of the decision to release the man convicted of murdering her daughter.
Marie McCourt, 77, says Ian Simms, 64, should not have been freed without revealing where Helen’s body is hidden.
She said the Parole Board’s decision last November to release him on licence was unreasonable, irrational and wrong.
Two High Court judges are considering her judicial review application.
Lady Justice Macur and Mr Justice Chamberlain were today told Helen, 22, was murdered in Billinge, Merseyside, in February 1988, while on her way home.
Pub landlord Simms, who has always maintained his innocence, was found guilty of her abduction and murder at Liverpool crown court in March 1989.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years, and was released on licence early this year.
The conditions of Simms’s release included living at a designated address and wearing an electronic tag.
For Mrs McCourt, Tom Little QC said the Parole Board panel had failed to conduct “reasonable” inquiries into the risk Simms posed to the public and failed to challenge him about his denial.
Mr Little said it had been “irrational” to conclude the risk of serious harm Simms poses was “no greater than medium” and that not asking “Do you know where Helen’s body is?” had been a failure.
Joanne Cecil, for Simms, said the Parole Board decision was not irrational.
And Nicholas Chapman, for the Parole Board, said an increase in “victim participation” in Parole Board decisions would have “significant ramifications” for the way hearings were conducted.
The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information about Victims) Bill – known as Helen’s Law because of this case – is now moving towards its final stages of Parliamentary scrutiny.
The campaign for a law forcing the Parole Board to consider a prisoner’s lack of cooperation was launched in the Mirror in 2015 by Mrs McCourt.
