Gateshead murderer Lee Nevins still at large after absconding from prison for the second time

A convicted murderer is still at large almost one week after absconding from jail for the second time.

Fugitive killer Lee Nevins, from Gateshead, has been on the run since last Tuesday 27 September after failing to return to HMP Sudbury, an open prison in Derbyshire, after being out on day release.

Police have today confirmed they are still looking for the 39-year-old.A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said: "Enquiries are still ongoing, no arrests have yet been made."

He is described as white, of slim build, and around 6ft tall with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He has a tattoo of a Tasmanian Devil on his arm.Nevins, who has links to the Chester-le-Street, Gateshead, and the wider Northumbria area, was jailed for life for the murder of disabled 20-year-old Lee Jobling in 2006.

Along with accomplice Mark Lang, Nevins killed Mr Jobling in an unprovoked attack at his home on Gateshead's Leam Lane estate.

Both were convicted of murder and jailed for life.

Mr Jobling, who suffered a brain injury after falling from a bridge at the age of 15, died after being attacked by the pair at his flat.

It happened on Saturday 8 April 2006, after he had invited friends to his home for drinks. Word of the gathering for out at the local pub, and after closing time Nevins and Lang made their way to his home.

The pair, who had been drinking and had taken drugs, stayed at the flat after other guests and launched a prolonged attack, repeatedly kicking and punching him in the head.

He was found unconscious by paramedics and died in hospital about three weeks later.

Nevins, then 23, of Leam Lane, and Lang, 24, of Harlow Green, Gateshead, were charged with murder.

They pleaded not guilty but were convicted after a two-week trial, at Newcastle Crown Court, during which both killers each tried to blame the other.

In 2008 Nevins sparked a major manhunt after he absconded from prison. He escaped after being taken from Frankland Prison, in Durham, to Sunderland Royal Hospital after suffering a hand injury.

Last week Angela Knotts, his aunt, told of her anger at learning her nephew's killer had escaped again.

The 63-year-old said: "It's an insult to Lee. I just feel as if he's done this awful crime and he's not faced up to what he's done and thinks he should be free. It's just horrible because you can't think of anything else."

"They are saying to us that he's not a danger to the public and he's probably not to someone who can defend themselves. But to someone who is vulnerable he is.

"The police don't know where he is, but they say he has associates in the Northumbria area.

"They are saying he's worked hard so he's in an open prison. But they know he's an absconder. They are saying they are doing all they can to make sure he doesn't get out of the country."

Anyone with any information about Nevins' whereabouts should call Derbyshire Police quoting reference 22*563940.

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