Convicted child murderer and rapist Colin Pitchfork has been released from prison after almost 30 years behind bars.
Pitchfork, now in his early 60s, was jailed for life after raping and strangling two 15-year-olds in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986.
On 22 November 1983, Pitchfork's first victim, Lynda Mann, was found in a secluded area of the county.
Three years later on August 2, 1986, a second body was found in a wooded area called Ten Pound Lane. This was later confirmed to be 15-year-old, Dawn Ashworth.
Both had been savagely beaten, raped and strangled.
Who is Colin Pitchfork?
Pitchfork was born and raised in Newbold Vernon and attended schools in Market Bosworth and Desford.
In 1981, he married his wife and they had two sons. Pitchfork found work in a bakery as an apprentice and stayed there until his arrest.
According to Pitchfork's supervisor, "He was moody...and he couldn't leave women employees alone."
Before his marriage, he was convicted of indecent exposure in 1976 and was referred to therapy.
First DNA conviction
Pitchfork's case was a historic moment for justice in the UK, becoming the first person to be convicted by DNA evidence.
With samples left on victims, police were able to track down Pitchfork, with no other leads nor evidence.
Due to his history of indecent exposure, Pitchfork managed to persuade colleague Ian Kelly to pretend to be him and give DNA samples to police on his behalf. The killer claimed he did not want to be harassed by police due to his past and Kelly agreed.
In a Leicester pub, Kelly admitted his fraud to colleagues but luckily was overheard by a woman nearby. She then reported it to the police and the real Colin Pitchfork was arrested and found as an exact match to DNA left at the crime scene in 1987.
Pitchfork will be subject to a curfew
Following a hearing in March, the Parole Board ruled Pitchfork was “suitable for release”, despite this being denied in 2016 and 2018.
In June Justice Secretary Robert Buckland asked the board, which is independent of the Government, to re-examine the decision under the so-called reconsideration mechanism.
But the Parole Board rejected the Government challenge against its ruling the following month, announcing the application to reconsider the decision had been refused.
Pitchfork will be placed on the sex offenders’ register and have to adhere to other licence conditions including having to live at a designated address, being supervised by probation, wearing an electronic tag, taking part in polygraph – lie detector – tests, having to disclose what vehicles he uses and who he speaks to, while facing particular limits on contact with children.
He will also be subject to a curfew, have restrictions on using technology and limitations on where he can go.
The Government plans to overhaul the parole system, with the findings of a review expected later this year. It has also sought to change the law so child killers face life behind bars without parole.
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