- David Harker, who killed mother-of-four Julie Paterson in Darlington in 1998, has been denied parole for the ninth time.
- Harker is serving a life sentence for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, after admitting to the killing and later boasting about eating parts of her body with pasta.
- The Parole Board concluded that it was not yet safe to release the 51-year-old or transfer him to an open prison, citing the continued need to protect the public.
- Harker has been eligible for parole since 2013, and his latest hearing involved oral evidence, though he did not attend.
- Despite reports of “significantly improved” behaviour in custody over the past 11 years, experts involved in the hearing did not recommend his release.
IN FULL
