A murderer who has spent most his life fighting to be freed now says he wants to stay in prison.
Tom Fairfax, who was sentenced to life in 1968 for killing his wife’s friend, says he wants “to be forgotten”.
Fairfax’s case is next up for consideration by the Parole Board on June 17. But after 49 years in jail, Fairfax, 78, said at the weekend: “I have turned my back on the outside world.
“It holds no interest for me now. I’ve made a life for myself inside.”
Fairfax, who is in HMP Oakwood, Staffs, added: “The wing I am on is the nearest thing to a holiday camp you can get in a prison – I don’t imagine I could replicate it outside.
“I’d never be lonely here. There are so many people.
“I have a life here and I don’t want to lose that.” Fairfax – whose real name is Roger Payne – suffers from osteoarthritis and has had cancer and a series of minor strokes, it has been reported.
He was jailed for life in 1968 for cutting the throat of Claire Josephs, 20, at her flat in Bromley, South-East London. He pleaded not guilty at trial. There were no witnesses and no motive was established.
The prosecution relied heavily on evidence from Margaret Pereira, an expert in blood forensics at Scotland Yard. Fairfax was one of the first killers to be convicted solely on forensic evidence.
More than 60 fibres matching Claire’s dress were found on his clothes and a spot of blood matching her rare type was found in his car.
In 1991, he was recommended for release but the Home Office overturned the decision.
He later absconded during home leave and settled in Lydney, Glos. He was found and jailed in 1994.
The National Probation Service said parole decisions are “solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a risk to the public”.
