Murderer still on the run six days after absconding from open prison

Murderer, 39, is STILL on the run six days after absconding from open prison 16 years into his life sentence for brutally killing a disabled man

• Police are still looking for prisoner at large, Lee Nevins, 39, from Gateshead
• The murderer did not return to HMP Sudbury, Derbyshire, on September 27 
• Nevins was jailed for life in 2006 for the murder of 20-year-old Lee Jobling 
• The convicted killer escaped jail before in 2008 before being found in Scotland

Police are still looking for a murderer who beat a disabled man to death after he escaped prison for the second time in 14 years.

Lee Nevins, 39, is serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of brutally killing Lee Jobling, 20, in his own home in an unprovoked attack in 2006 while high on drugs and alcohol.

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

Lee Nevins, 39, (pictured) who was jailed for life in 2006, has been on the run since last Tuesday after failing to return to HMP Sudbury, an open prison in Derbyshire

This afternoon a spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said: ‘Enquiries are still ongoing, no arrests have yet been made.’

Nevins was jailed for life in 2006 for the sadistic 2006 slaying of disabled Mr Jobling but later escaped in 2008, just two years into his sentence.

He had been taken from Frankland Prison in County Durham to Sunderland Royal Hospital with an injured hand before he went on the run for a week before he was caught in Scotland.

An investigation conducted at the time was highly critical of bungling prison staff.

Now the violent criminal is once again at large after escaping prison on September 27 – nearly 16 years after being convicted of murder.

Nevins – who has a string of convictions for other violent attacks – was on temporary licence but failed to return to the category D prison in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire Police say he has known links to Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, and Northumberland.

On Friday a Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘HMP Sudbury is working with police to recapture Lee Nevins quickly and on capture he faces longer behind bars.’

HMP Sudbury is an open prison in Derbyshire. Nevins did not return after a period of temporary leave on Tuesday 27 September 

HMP Sudbury in Ashbourne is a Category D prison, meaning it has a more relaxed regime and houses prisoners defined as ‘those who can be reasonably trusted not to try and escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison’.

Along with accomplice Mark Lang, Nevins killed 20-year-old Lee in an unprovoked attack at his home on Gateshead’s Leam Lane estate.

The pair forced their way into Mr Jobling’s home where they mocked him for being disabled on April 8, 2006.

High on drink and drugs, the pair, who did not even know Lee, failed to leave with the other guests, but stayed at the flat, where they launched their prolonged attack in the early hours.

Lang and Nevins taunted and mocked Lee before repeatedly punching and kicking him in the head.

Lee Jobling (pictured above) died after a brutal attack from Nevins and his accomplice Mark Lang

When paramedics forced their way into Lee’s home they found him lying unconscious. He died in hospital around three weeks later.

Nevins, then 23, of Leam Lane, and Lang, 24, of Harlow Green, Gateshead, were eventually 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.

Judge John Milford jailed them for life, ordering that Nevins, who had previous convictions for violence, serve a minimum of 17 years and Lang at least 16.

The horror killing came just six years after Mr Jobling overcame the odds to survive a childhood blighted by tragedy and injury.

He was just six when his mum Shirley, who was divorced from his dad, died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage.

Mr Jobling and his two brothers went to live with his aunt Angela and Gary Knotts at their home in Leam Lane.

Convicted murderer Lee Nevins (left) is on the run for a second time, after absconding from an open prison in Derbyshire. He jailed for life for the brutal killing Lee Jobling (right) 

At 15-years-old Mr Jobling then suffered a serious head injury after falling from a bridge while out playing with friends.

He suffered a brain injury and spent almost two weeks in a coma. The accident left Lee walking with a limp and suffering from memory problems.

With the support of his family, Lee battled on, however, was not well enough to work in the months before he died.

He had also just moved to his own flat, not far from his aunt’s home.

Last week Mrs Knotts spoke of her anger at learning her nephews 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.’

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