Child killer's 'distress' if parole hearing public

Jade Lester was two and her mother, Sharon Lester, 22, when they were murdered by Thomas Park

A murderer who killed a mother and her two-year-old daughter has defeated a bid to have a parole hearing held in public due to the "distress" it would cause him.

Thomas Park stabbed his partner Sharon Lester at least 100 times with a pair of scissors before beating her daughter Jade to death in Liverpool in December 1998 after Ms Lester confronted him about sexually abusing the toddler.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years, a tariff that expired in December 2023.

Ms Lester's family had applied to the Parole Board for the hearing to be held in public, but a judge ruled the "hostile atmosphere" could prevent Park from speaking openly.

In 1999, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court heard the then 24-year-old Park had likely attacked Ms Lester, 22, after she found out about "a serious indecent assault" on Jade.

Her body was found in a cupboard at her home in Ling Street, Kensington, around a week later by her mother and a neighbour.

Jade's body had been wrapped in a plastic bin liner and dumped on a patch of wasteland.

Thomas Park was 22 when he stabbed his partner more than 100 times before killing her daughter

A post-mortem revealed the child had suffered around seven "heavy blows" to the head.

Prisoners serving life sentences can apply to be released on licence or to be moved to open prison conditions when their minimum term expires - a decision taken by a Parole Board panel based on the offender's remaining risk to the public.

Parole Board judge Jeremy Roberts KC said in a written ruling it was a "truly appalling case" and noted it would have attracted a much longer minimum term under current sentencing guidelines.

However, he wrote: "There is a significant risk that in a public hearing Mr Park would not have the opportunity to 'give best evidence', i.e. to do himself justice in answering questions from the panel, in the hostile atmosphere which there would inevitably be in a public hearing of this case."

'Stress'

Judge Roberts also highlighted fears raised by Park's legal team that increased publicity could heighten the risk of him being "killed or seriously injured" in "retribution" for his crimes either in prison or in the community.

A statement from his lawyers, quoted in the ruling, said in the past the impact of publicity and media reporting around his case had been "profound and detrimental".

They wrote: "He has previously experienced anxiety, depression and disturbed sleep when subjected to media attention, and has required medical intervention for these symptoms.

"The prospect of a public hearing heightens these fears, creating such stress that he is unlikely to be able to concentrate fully on the questions put to him."

In 2024 Ms Lester's family had successfully applied for Park's first parole hearing to be held in public despite the killer's protestations.

However, shortly before the hearing, Park's lawyers asked for the decision to be taken on a review of the paperwork without Park giving oral evidence - meaning no hearing took place.

He was denied parole on that occasion and the panel said Park should remain in closed prison conditions while he continued "risk reduction work".

Parole hearings were always held privately until a change in the law in 2022, which gave members of the public the right to apply for hearings to be held publicly.

But the decision remains down to the Parole Board on a case-by-case basis, and applications can be refused if the benefits of increased transparency are outweighed by the impact on the prisoner's ability to give evidence, their ability to reintegrate in the community, or if a public hearing would cause "undue distress" to the prisoner or the victim.

Ms Lester's immediate family could still be permitted to observe part of the hearing, at the discretion of the chair of the panel instructed to preside over the case.

A fresh oral hearing is due to take place on 25 November, and a summary of the decision will be published in writing.