A woman whose father killed her mother in Bournemouth welcomes news parole hearing will be in public

Nearly 40 years since Samantha Gillingham's mother was killed by her father - she's welcomed the news his latest parole board will take place in public.

Russell Causley will become the first prisoner to have such a hearing.

He was found guilty in 1996 of the murder of his estranged wife, Carole Packman.

She had disappeared from her home in Bournemouth in 1985. Her body has never been found as Causley - now 79 - has never revealed where he hid her.

Carole's family has been campaigning for him to be kept in prison until he admits what happened and where she is.

Causley was released on parole in 2020 but he was returned to prison last year for a breach of his licence conditions.

Although his next parole hearing will be in public his family has concerns about what the outcome will be.

Samantha Gillingham said: "I'm doing it with very limited information. Of course I can try research but I don't have a law degree and I do think there is still some way to go on serious cases such as this that are unsolved, at the end of the day my mother is still a missing person, and I do think there should be more assistance, as there is with the CPS, Barristers etc, that are provided at the very beginning of this."      

The application for the parole hearing to be made public was made by Carole's grandson Neil Gillingham, who said: "I want the press there, I want the public to be able to come and observe proceedings and hear for themselves.  I'm telling you now my grandfather does not deserve release and is an evil person who deserves to spend the rest of his days behind bars."       

New legislation that allows Parole hearings to be heard in public was introduced in July and with reference to Causley still not disclosing the location of his victim, the Parole Board said: "There are special features which set this apart from other cases. Although the primary focus of the hearing will be the reasons for recall and the assessment of risk, it will be the first opportunity for the public to see how the Parole Board approaches this issue at a hearing."

The hearing is expected to take place next month.