Murderer whose vile gang kidnapped, tortured & burned alive 16-year-old girl could walk free as parole hearing date set | The Sun
A KILLER whose gang murdered a teenage girl singing 'burn, baby burn' could walk free after being granted a parole hearing.
Glyn Powell, 58, was convicted with three others for burning alive 16-year-old Suzanne Capper in Greater Manchester in 1992.
A spokesman from the Parole Board stated a hearing is expected to take place around April 2023.
After a thorough analysis of the crime, the culprit's subsequent behaviour and the effect of the murder on the victim's family, a decision will be made.
Detectives who conducted the inquiry into Suzanne Capper's murder highlighted its "sheer mindless brutality" – equating the scale of depravity to the crimes perpetrated by Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
The trial took place in November 1993 – overlapping with the widely publicised case and trial of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
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Both were convicted on November 24 for the abduction and murder of James Bulger – whose mutilated body was found on a railway line in Bootle, Merseyside.
As a result, the gruesome details of the prolonged assault on Capper received comparably muted coverage, despite the murder being one of the most shocking in recent UK criminal history.
The murder did play its part, however, in compelling the press and leading politicians to weigh in on the state of the nation.
Tony Blair, who was shadow home secretary at the time, described the murders as "hammer blows against the sleeping conscience of the country".
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Suzanne was lured to Jean Powell's house in Moston – a deprived pocket of Manchester – on December 7, 1992.
There, Jean's estranged husband and Anthony Dudson forced her down, shaved her head and eyebrows and forced her to clean up and throw away the mess.
It was later revealed during the trial that she had been savagely beaten, tortured and tied to a bed over the course of a week.
Conflicting accounts were given for the motive of the murder.
Suzanne had previously babysat for Powell's children.
The next day, Capper was taken to the nearby house of Bernadette McNeilly, another individual she considered a friend who had turned against her in the most malevolent fashion.
During the 22-day trial, it emerged that Capper had then been tied to a bed, beaten and tortured for nearly a week.
Suzanne had also been injected with amphetamines and had cigarettes extinguished on her body as rave music blared -masking her screaming pleas for help.
The prosecution revealed that her killers' favourite track was 'Hi, I'm Chucky (Wanna Play?)' by 150 Volts, featuring samples from the movie Child's Play.
The 1988 American slasher film is the first in a franchise about a serial killer who transfers his soul into an evil doll.
Before proceeding to torture Capper, McNeilly would utter the chilling phrase "Chucky's coming to play."
In the early hours of December 14, 1992, Suzanne was forced into a car and driven 15 miles to an isolated lane on the outskirts of Stockport in Greater Manchester.
She was pushed down into brambles and doused with petrol.
McNeilly botched several attempts to set Capper alight.
Glyn Powell and Dudson then successfully intervened -with McNeilly chanting 'Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn!' from The Trammps song Disco Inferno.
Suzanne managed to make her way back to the main road, where she was discovered by a driver.
Suzanne had suffered 80 per cent burns and died from her injuries in hospital on December 18, 1992.
However, before losing consciousness, Capper managed to name those responsible for her murder with her dying breath.
The jury began their deliberations on December 16, 1993, and took nine hours and 52 minutes to reach their verdicts.
Mr Justice Potts said: 'Each of you has been convicted on clear evidence of murder which was as appalling a murder as it is possible to imagine.'
Glyn Powell, who was 29 at the time of the murder, Jean Powell (now Gillespie), then 26, Bernadette McNeilly, 24, and Anthony Dudson, 17, were all found guilty of murder.
Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years.
Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years – later reduced to 16.
Clifford Pook, Jean's brother, and Jeffrey Leigh pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and were given 15 and 12-year sentences respectively.
McNeilly's sentence was reduced by one year in 2013. Leigh's sentence was reduced from 12 to nine years in November 1994.
McNeilly was paroled in 2015 after having her 25-year sentence cut by one year. Dudson was released in 2013. In 2017 Jean Gillespie, formerly Powell, was released.
A spokesman for the Parole Board said: "We can confirm the parole review of Glyn Powell has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. A hearing is expected to take place in April 2023.
"Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
"A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
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"Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.
"It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority."
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