Who is Colin Pitchfork and where is he now?
COLIN PITCHFORK is set to be released from prison for a second time.
The murderer was sentenced to life behind bars for raping and killing two 15-year-old girls in the 1980s but walked free in 2021, before shortly being locked up again.
Who is Colin Pitchfork?
Pitchfork is a killer who was jailed for life in 1988 for raping and murdering Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, both 15, in Leicestershire.
He was the first person in the world to be arrested and convicted using DNA evidence.
Pitchfork grew up in Newbold Verdon, Leicestershire, before moving to Littlethorpe when he got married.
He worked there as an apprentice baker and had two sons with his wife.
Pitchfork famously left one son sleeping in the back of his car while he raped and murdered his first victim, Mann, before driving home and putting the baby to bed.
Prior to marrying his wife, Pitchfork had been convicted of indecent exposure and had been referred for therapy at a local hospital.
Who were Colin Pitchfork's victims?
Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth were both killed by Pitchfork.
Both young women were just 15 years old when they were murdered.
On November 21, 1983, Mann was taking a shortcut on her way home from babysitting in her village of Narborough when she disappeared.
Her parents spent the evening looking for her but the next morning her body was found dumped on a local footpath, having been strangled to death.
Mann had also been raped.
It wasn't until Ashworth's body was found in similar circumstances in July 1986 that the police had any leads or evidence.
Ashworth had left a friend's house in Narborough but vanished on the short walk to her home in the neighbouring village of Enderby.
Her body was found in the corner of a field hidden under branches and showed signs of a terrible struggle before she was killed.
Cops arrested Richard Buckland – a local 17-year-old with learning difficulties who knew Ashworth - shortly after her body was found, however, DNA evidence proved Buckland was innocent and eventually led to Pitchfork's arrest.
Pitchfork pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of both teens and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years in 1988.
In 2009, his sentence was reduced, on appeal, to 28 years.
What happened when Colin Pitchfork was on day release in 2017?
On November 13, 2017, The Sun reported that Pitchfork had been allowed out to roam Bristol city centre alone for six hours.
Pitchfork, who changed his name to Thorpe, went to a job centre and visited three banks, as well as eating a pulled pork sandwich and reading Great British Bake Off books.
He was later returned by staff to HMP Leyhill, an open prison in Gloucestershire.
What art has the killer exhibited?
In April 2009 Pitchfork sparked public outrage when he exhibited a sculpture at the Royal Festival Hall.
The design, titled Bringing Music To Life, was created from inside HMP Frankland, County Durham and was described as being made "in meticulous miniature detail by folding, cutting and tearing the score of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."
The work was removed from display the family of Pitchfork's victims expressed their distress.
When was Colin Pitchfork released from prison?
After being denied parole on two occasions, in 2016 and in 2018, the Parole Board deemed in June 2021 that Pitchfork was no longer a danger to the public.
He was released in July 2021 but was back in jail two months later after breaching the licence conditions of his release.
It was revealed that he had "sidled up" to young women while out on long walks and was arrested over "concerning behaviours" after being freed.
Where is Colin Pitchfork now?
In June 2023 Pitchfork was ruled safe for release - less than two years after he was thrown back in jail.
The Sun reported shortly after the news was announced, however, that the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk could step in and make a case for the Parole Board to look again.
The Justice Secretary was thought to be looking at the case very carefully and weighing up whether to make a case and intervene, sources close to him said.
He added: "I would like to reassure constituents that I will be writing to the Justice Secretary to ask that he seek an immediate and urgent review.
"It is simply unthinkable that a man who committed such egregious crimes should ever be released, and I will be asking the Government to challenge this decision in the strongest possible terms."
A Ministry of Justice source told The Sun: "Pitchfork was recalled to prison less than two years ago for concerning behaviour.