Colin Pitchfork victim’s sister warns ‘He WILL strike again’ after murder monster released from jail
THE heartbroken sister of a teenage girl raped and murdered by monster Colin Pitchfork has warned "he WILL strike again” following his release from jail.
Evil Pitchfork strangled 15-year-old Lynda Mann while his baby son slept in his car - before doing the same to schoolgirl Dawn Ashworth three years later.
Despite never showing an ounce of remorse, the 61-year-old was last week freed from his life sentence by parole chiefs.
He is now living in a probation hostel at an undisclosed location - and at liberty again to roam the streets.
Speaking for the first time in more than five years, Lynda Mann's sister Rebecca Eastwood revealed she is convinced Pitchfork will strike again.
"I haven’t spoken for so long because I hate thinking about him," the 40-year-old said.
“But every woman and child in Britain needs to know that Pitchfork is at large.
“He could be living on your street, or near your school. There’s a monster in our midst and no-one is truly safe.
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“I honestly believe he will kill again. And I don’t want anyone else to go through the pain that our family has.
“The Parole Board says it is safe - but they can’t be 100 per cent certain. You can slap all the restrictions you like on him - but he’s a clever man, a manipulator, if he’s free, there’s always a risk.
“There have been mistakes made in the past.
“I just pray that this isn’t another one. He is a monster who will never change his ways.”
Pitchfork, already known to police as a serial flasher, dropped his wife off at an evening class before chancing upon Lynda on a path near to her home in Narborough, Leics, in November 1983.
As his son slept in a carrycot, he raped and murdered the teenager. When asked why he strangled her, he reportedly said: “Because she was screaming”.
In 1986, Pitchfork struck again - raping and strangling Dawn, also 15, on another stretch of the same footpath.
He was the first person to be snared by DNA evidence and jailed for life in 1988 after admitting the two murders. A judge ordered him to serve at least 30 years in prison - reduced to 28 on appeal.
Pitchfork - who now goes by the name of David Thorpe - was denied parole in 2016 and 2018 after being branded a danger to the public.
But to widespread fury, the former baker was given the green light for release in June. This week, he tasted freedom for the first time in 34 years after being freed from HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire.
Rebecca, who now lives on Merseyside, said the call to confirm his release had left her “numb”.
'PREDATORY'
"I knew he was coming out. I knew it was going to happen - but nothing prepares you for the call," she said.
“They’ve told me he’s under lots of restrictions but they won’t tell me even which part of the country he’s gone - they won’t even tell me if he’s anywhere near me.
“It’s terrifying to think he could be nearby.
“I know he’s probably not going to come here but my brain thinks: ‘What if?’. ‘You never know who’s standing outside the house’.
“He could live next door to anyone, walk past schools. There’s an unwitting community out there that has no idea who their new neighbour is.
“He’s not an elderly man in his 80s - he is still a very capable man. He’s got a lot of time to rebuild his life.”
Pitchfork was caught when detectives staged the first ever mass DNA screening - taking samples from 5,000 men in Leicestershire.
But the killer came close to evading police when he tried to persuade a bakery colleague to give blood in his place.
It was only when the colleague boasted in a pub about what he had done that both men were arrested - and Pitchfork’s DNA sample matches those on both victims.
His release came after the Parole Board ruled in March that he was "suitable" for life on the outside, with it revealed he has had £34,000 of legal aid to fight claims branded frivolous.
Pitchfork was shepherded to his new accommodation on Wednesday and must abide by more than 40 strict licence conditions.
But Rebecca believes Pitchfork could never be rehabilitated.
She said: “If you’re as opportunistic and predatory as he is, you can’t just switch that off.
“He was driving around with a baby in the car, pulled up and lay in wait.
“When asked why he did it, he said ‘because she was there’.
“There’s no way anyone can be rehabilitated from that. To have acted upon his urges with Lynda and then go out and do it again.
“For someone who has raped and murdered two young girls to just walk around - it’s frightening.
‘You’ve seen the way kids dress these days. What’s going to stop him attacking another girl that he randomly sees?
“They should release a recent photo of him so people know what he looks like now. There aren’t enough restrictions you can slap on someone like him.”
Every woman and child in Britain needs to know that Pitchfork is at large.
Rebecca Eastwood
Rebecca, who was just two years old when her sister’s life was taken nearly 38 years ago, now clings to a last photo of a family holiday just months earlier in Mablethorpe, Lincs.
In it, she is being held by a smiling Lynda, with her sister Sue and mum Kath.
Now her main concern is the welfare of her own daughter, Emma, eight.
"Because of what happened to Lynda, I’m petrified when it comes to Emma," she said.
“I’ve always been open with her, like my mum was with me. She wanted me to know that there are monsters out there and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
“I have been quite open with her. She knows Auntie Lynda was killed by a bad man and that I’ve been fighting for years against his release.
“She saw his face come up on the telly this week and heard he had been released. I’ve explained to her that it is safe - but I don’t feel safe, really.
“I suppose it is a bit harsh for an eight-year-old to know that someone took a family member’s life. She doesn’t know the full details but she knows it’s real - it’s not just a scary film you see on the telly.
“I don’t want her to grow up thinking life is one big fairytale and no-one is ever going to hurt you. If I go anywhere, I don’t let go of her. I’ve told her to never be afraid of the police.”
A last-minute bid by the Government to keep Pitchfork caged failed when the High Court refused to overturn the Parole Board’s decision.
He initially looked set to avoid being placed on the sex offenders’ register until loophole was exposed in the Press.
Now Rebecca wants to see the parole system completely overhauled.
She said: “The whole process is too secretive. I got asked if I wanted to read a victim statement at the hearing but I was told that I would have to leave as soon as I had delivered it.
“I would have loved to have listened to the hearing so I could hear for myself the evidence on which this decision was made.
“I felt completely out of the loop. Victims’ families should be front and centre of any parole hearing - they should have a right to hear every cough and spit.
“Even the public should know what goes on as a general rule.
“The only justice I had ever hoped for was that Pitchfork would take his last breath behind bars without ever seeing freedom.
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“I just don’t feel that the justice system has protected us. From this day on, I will always be looking behind me.”
It comes after Sue Gratrick - another of Lynda's sisters - blasted the "evil psychopath" and said the thought of seeing the killer on the streets is "scary and horrendous."
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