Detective who caught child killer Colin Pitchfork warns paedo could have ‘pulled the wool’ over the eyes of Parole Board
THE DETECTIVE who caught child killer Colin Pitchfork has warned the paedo may have “pulled the wool” over the eyes his Parole board.
Sex-obsessed Pitchfork was caged for life in 1988 for the rape and murder of teenage schoolgirls Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire.
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But the Parole Board has deemed that the 61-year-old – the first murderer to be convicted using DNA evidence – was no longer a danger to the public after being turned down for release on two previous occasions.
And Former Det Chief Supt David Baker has blasted the decision – and says he think he has fooled the board.
He told The Mirror: “I firmly believe he should remain in jail and never be released.
“There’s every possibility that he has pulled the wool over the eyes of the Parole Board.”
He added: “Pitchfork is a very dangerous man. He murdered one girl and then went on to live normally with his family before murdering again three years later.
“He was certainly a psychopath because he went from murder to being a family man. He lived a double life and it could be that he still is.”
Pitchfork will have 35 conditions attached to his release – which include electronic tagging, lie detector tests and he must provide details of any vehicle he owns.
Pitchfork, who now calls himself David Thorpe after ditching his notorious name, raped and strangled Lynda, 15, in November 1983.
The teenager had left her home to visit a friend – but never returned.
Her body was found the next morning on a deserted footpath.
Three years later, Pitchfork, who worked as a baker, struck again – killing and raping Dawn, also 15, in almost identical circumstances.
Her body was found less than a mile from where Lynda had been attacked.
After Dawn’s killing, Leicestershire Police launched the largest manhunt in its history, asking more than 5,000 local men to volunteer blood or saliva samples in a bid to match samples taken from the crime scenes.
No matches were found, but in 1987 a bakery colleague was overheard boasting that he’d received £200 for giving a sample while posing as Pitchfork.
The conversation was reported to police, and a month later Pitchfork was arrested.
He pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of Lynda and Dawn, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years.
This was reduced on appeal to 28 years in 2009.
Local MP Alberto Costa said he had met the chief executive of the Parole Board for England and Wales Martin Jones to discuss the case.
Following the meeting, Mr Costa announced he would write to the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland MP, to ensure both he and the Parole Board were aware of local concerns about the case.
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The mother of Dawn Ashworth has said Pitchfork “will always present a danger”.
And the sister of his first victim, Lynda Mann, said the only sentence Pitchfork should have received was “a bullet to the head”.
Sue Gratrick, who’s sister Lynda Mann, said the Parole Board’s decision was putting the family through hell.
Sue has since moved to a seaside town more than 100 miles away from the scene of her sister’s murder.