Russell Causley: Murderer in first public parole hearing released

Russell Causley married his wife Carole Packman in 1965

A convicted murderer who was subject to the UK's first public parole hearing has been freed from prison, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.

Russell Causley murdered wife Carole Packman in Bournemouth in 1985 but has always refused to reveal the whereabouts of her body.

The Parole Board confirmed the 79-year-old would be freed after he argued his case at a hearing in December.

It ruled his release no longer posed a significant risk to the wider public.

Carole Packman disappeared in 1985, aged 40, and her body has never been found

His parole hearing had made UK legal history, with the media and public invited to watch proceedings for the first time.

A panel of three parole judges were told how the former aviation engineer had initially been released in 2020 after serving 23 years of a life sentence - but was recalled to jail for breaking his licence conditions.

Causley admitted he had lost contact with his probation officers and failed to stay at his approved accommodation, something he put down to a "silly mistake".

The hearing was told he had left his wallet and phone behind, only taking some cash and a towel with him for a trip to a beach in Portsmouth.

Causley said he was mugged by three men during that trip and spent the night lying on the beach. He was later picked up by police and sent back to jail.

Samantha Gillingham told the BBC that the fact she has no death certificate meant her mother "doesn't exist any more"

Mrs Packman's daughter Samantha Gillingham told the BBC she believed the killer should remain behind bars until he admitted what he had done with her remains.

But the Parole Board ruled Causley, who been an inmate at HMP Lewes, could be managed safely in the community, and the Ministry of Justice later confirmed it would not challenge the decision.

Mrs Gillingham said now that decision had been made she would like to meet her father so she could try to get some closure.

"If anything, [what Causley said during the hearing] opened up more questions for me," she said.

"That was the most frustrating thing that I found - to listen... and not have somebody from my side there to actually challenge."

Causley was also jailed for fraud after a botched attempt to fake his own death

Causley was only caught out as a killer eight years after his wife's disappearance.

He had made a botched attempt to fake his own death as part of an elaborate insurance fraud and the subsequent police investigation led officers to evidence of the murder.

Detectives who investigated the fraud case have described how they found Causley in a Brighton pub after he had been reported missing from a boat off the coast of Guernsey.

Their suspicions had been prompted after a hydrofoil booking on the same day was made in the name of a mysterious "Mr Russell", combined with a claim being lodged on his life insurance for £790,000.

Causley told fellow inmates about the killing while he was in prison for the fraud and how he had created a paper trail that made it seem like Mrs Packman was still alive.

They later found her belongings in a storage unit to which only he had access to, and it was established the last confirmed sighting of his wife was at a solicitor's office where she was inquiring about a divorce.

Samantha Gillingham said her father had been a controlling presence at home

Causley told the parole judges it was his ex-lover Patricia Causley, whose name he took, who carried out the killing.

However, he also admitted to being a "habitual liar" and the judges pointed out that "no credible evidence" was found against her after a police investigation.

Causley will be subject to licence conditions, including being required to live at a certain address, as well as facing restrictions on his movements, activities and who he contacts.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We know this will be an incredibly difficult time for Carole Packman's family, but Russell Causley will be under close supervision for the rest of his life and can be recalled to prison if he breaches the strict conditions of his release.

"Our parole reforms will stand up for the rights of victims in cases like this, making public safety the overriding factor in parole decisions and adding a ministerial veto on release of the most serious offenders."

The last sighting of Mrs Packman was at a solicitor's office, where she was asking about getting a divorce