The High Court has overturned a Parole Board decision to release Glyn Razzell, who was convicted of murdering his estranged wife Linda in 2003 and has never disclosed the location of her body. The ruling means Razzell, 66, will remain imprisoned.
The Parole Board had previously determined that Razzell's continued incarceration was "no longer necessary" for public protection. However, the Secretary of State for Justice referred this decision to the High Court, marking the first instance of this power being used to challenge a Parole Board release.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, announcing the High Court's decision, stated that she was not persuaded the risk Razzell posed had diminished sufficiently for offender management to ensure public safety upon his release. The judge referenced Razzell's history of intimate partner violence and coercive control, noting documented instances of Linda's fear.
According to the judgment, Razzell "has a propensity to violence against women and that without some recognition of that aspect of his personality he remains a danger to women who come within his milieu." The judge also noted that his ongoing denial of the murder indicated he was "not a man who will lightly admit when things start to go wrong in his life." Furthermore, the court expressed doubt about his compliance with licence requirements, particularly if such compliance might challenge his self-perception as a victim.
Linda Razzell disappeared from Swindon in 2002, and Glyn Razzell was convicted of her murder the following year. His refusal to reveal the whereabouts of her body has been a significant factor in ongoing legal and public considerations of his case.