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Murder of Carole Packman

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Carole Packman
Born
Veronica Anne Thornton

c. 1945
UK
DiedJune 1985 (aged 40)
OccupationEngineer
Known forVictim of murder
SpouseRussell Causley
Children1

Veronica Anne Packman (née Thornton, c. 1945 – June 1985), known as Carole Packman, was a 40-year-old British woman who disappeared from her home in Bournemouth, England in June 1985.[1][2] Her husband, Russell Causley (né Packman),[3] was found guilty of his wife's murder, but her body has never been found.[4]

On 12 December 2022, Causley had the first public parole hearing in British history.[5][2] Samantha Gillingham, the couple's daughter who has campaigned for years to keep her father in prison, called the decision to hold a public hearing "momentous".[6]

In January 2023 the Parole Board concluded that Causley should be released again and he left prison in February that year, subject to release licence conditions.[7][8][9]

Disappearance

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Carole Packman disappeared from the family home in Bournemouth in June 1985. After her husband, Russell Causley, was caught faking his death off the coast of Guernsey as part of an insurance scam in 1993, he was convicted and jailed for fraud in 1995.[10] After the trial, Dorset Police re-investigated the disappearance of Packman.[11]

Trial

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Causley was convicted of her murder on 18 December 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 16 years.

Despite the absence of any body or forensic evidence, the prosecution sought to convince the jury: that Carole Packman was no longer alive; that she had been murdered; and that her husband was the killer.[12][13]

Appeal and re-conviction

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Causley appealed against his conviction in 1998, but the conviction was upheld. In June 2003, his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal following another appeal, and the judge ordered a retrial. At his retrial in 2004, he was once again found guilty of murder.[13] [14]

Subsequent events

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Russell Causley became eligible for parole in 2012. After several hearings, he was eventually granted parole in 2020.[15] Packman's grandson, Neil Gillingham, spoke out against the decision as "Helen's Law" was passing through parliament during the review.[16] Packman's daughter Samantha Gillingham has urged Causley throughout the years to reveal the location of her mother's body. Samantha Gillingham initially made calls in the media for a "no body, no parole" law in 2010, two years before Causley became eligible for parole.[17]

Neil Gillingham was critical of the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020[18] legislation being passed through parliament and claimed it had been "watered down". Neil went further to say that in practice the law changes would not prevent convicted murderers from being freed despite their unwillingness to cooperate with the authorities. Various articles appeared in national press in January 2020, in which Neil Gillingham described "Helen's Law" as "a law with no teeth".[19] This was later reiterated by Joshua Rozenberg in November 2020 in a blog post titled "A law that makes no difference".[20]

In December 2020, the CEO of the Parole Board, Martin Jones, reinforced Neil Gillingham’s earlier warnings in a Sky News interview.[21]

In December 2021, Causley was returned to prison after breaching his licence conditions.[22] In January 2022, it was reported that he had been referred to the Parole Board once again.[23] The hearing date was originally set for October 2022 following referral from Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab.[24][25] The hearing date was given to the Bournemouth Daily Echo before Packman's family was notified, for which the Ministry of Justice apologised.[26]

The BBC revealed on 4 August 2022 that Causley had been recalled to prison for "temporarily losing touch with authorities".[27] Causley was imprisoned at HM Prison Lewes.[22]

The original public parole hearing date was postponed due to "concerns the prisoner's safety was at risk".[28] The day before the scheduled public hearing, it was announced that the Parole Board was adjourned due to compelling evidence that Causley’s release address had been leaked publicly.[29][30][31]

On 12 December 2022, Causley attended a Parole Board hearing at which he admitted responsibility for his wife's murder. The hearing was the first in England and Wales to be held in public.[2] On 5 January 2023, the Parole Board concluded that he should be released again.[32] Justice Secretary Dominic Raab was considering whether to appeal the Parole Board's decision, but it was later announced by the Ministry of Justice that there were no legal grounds to do so.[9] Causley was released from prison in February that year, subject to licence conditions that stipulate where he lives, who he contacts and also restrict his activities; he will be recalled to prison if he fails to comply with his release conditions.[9]

Media coverage

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The case was covered ITV's crime series The Investigator: A British Crime Story in 2016.[33][34] Dorset Police subsequently confirmed that the case remained open and that they would be examining new evidence presented by Mark Williams-Thomas.[35]

The case has also been the subject of several other documentaries in recent years.

Episode 6 of When Missing Turns To Murder covers the Russell Causley case and is available to stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.[citation needed]

Nine Lives Media produced Nightmare In Suburbia: the case featured in Series 3, Episode 3 titled Killing the truth which was initially broadcast in March 2011. Both Neil Gillingham and Samantha Gillingham discuss the impact the murder has had on them. The TV show is available to stream on Amazon Prime.[citation needed]

In September 2021, the case was again featured in Series 3, Episode 5 of The Killer In My Family series broadcast on Discovery+. Both Samantha Gillingham and her son Neil Gillingham appear in the program giving in-depth accounts of the extraordinary impact the murder continues to have on their individual lives.[citation needed]

Monster Films produced Murder By The Sea Series 8 Episode 4 which is scheduled to be broadcast on Tuesday 31 January[year missing] on CBS Reality and again on 1 February.[year missing] Neither Sam Gillingham or her son Neil Gillingham partake in the documentary and were unaware of its production.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Williets, Ben (21 September 2021). "The murder of Carole Packman, killed by husband Russell Causley, to feature on TV show". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Wadey, Toby (12 December 2022). "Carole Packman murder: Russell Causley admits covering up wife's death". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Missing wife 'killed by husband'". BBC News. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  4. ^ Brown, Faye (30 November 2021). "Murderer who refused to reveal where he hid wife's body back in jail". Metro. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  5. ^ Goldman, Andrew (12 December 2022). "Killer says he burned wife's body and 'disposed of remains in hedgerows around town'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  6. ^ "'There isn't a more deserving person for this than her. She needs this'". Bournemouth Echo. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  7. ^ "My father Russell Causley killed mum in 1985 – he still won't say where she is". BBC News. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Bournemouth murderer Russell Causley released from prison". Bournemouth Echo. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Thompson, Flora (15 February 2023). "Murderer Russell Causley freed from jail". The Independent. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Convicted murderer who faked own death near Guernsey freed from jail". ITV News. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  11. ^ "UK man who murdered wife to be freed despite refusal to reveal location of body". the Guardian. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Daughter cries for missing mother". 24 March 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Husband jailed again for murder". 2 April 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Killer who never said where he hid wife's body is sent back to jail". guernseypress.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  15. ^ Wadey, Toby (8 September 2020). "Carole Packman murder: Russell Causley granted parole". BBC News. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  16. ^ "'My Grandmother's Killer Shouldn't Be Freed Until He Tells Us Where Her Body Is'". This Morning. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2022 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Codd, Joanna (11 June 2010). "Dorset woman tells of 25-year agony of mother's disappearance". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 4 November 2020. 2020 c. 19.
  19. ^ Tanner, Claudia (30 January 2020). "'No body, no parole' law fought for by murder victims' families 'has no teeth'".
  20. ^ Rozenberg, Joshua. "A law that makes no difference". A Lawyer Writes. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  21. ^ Gillespie, Tom (23 December 2020). "Killers who refuse to reveal where they hid victim's body could still be freed after Helen's Law". Sky News. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Carole Packman murderer Russell Causley returned to jail over licence breach". ITV News. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  23. ^ Goldman, Andrew (14 January 2022). "Murderer Russell Causley referred to Parole Board again". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  24. ^ Wadey, Toby (20 September 2022). "Wife-killer faces UK's first public parole hearing". BBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  25. ^ Goldman, Andrew (30 June 2022). "Parole hearing dates set for murderer Russell Causley". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  26. ^ "MoJ 'deeply sorry' after murderer's parole dates given to paper before family". Glasgow Times. AP. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  27. ^ Wadey, Toby (4 August 2022). "Carole Packman murder: Freed wife-killer 'lost touch' with authorities". BBC News. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  28. ^ Wadey, Toby (3 November 2022). "Carole Packman murder: New date set for first public parole hearing". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Killer Russell Causley's public parole hearing delayed over 'safety fears'". Bournemouth Echo. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  30. ^ Warburton, Dan (26 August 2017). "Daughter's plea to killer dad over 30-year mystery of her mum's murder". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  31. ^ R v Causley [2003] EWCA Crim 1840 (5 June 2003)
  32. ^ "Carole Packman murder: Russell Causley to be released from prison". BBC News. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  33. ^ Jefferies, Mark; Methven, Nicola (3 August 2016). "The Investigator real-life murder story finishes with 'jaw-dropping' revelations – and clues point to second series". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  34. ^ "Episode 1". The Investigator: A British Crime Story. ITV. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  35. ^ "Police will re-examine evidence into murder of Carole Packman as convicted killer retracts confession made to TV investigator". Bournemouth Echo. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
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