Murderer who never shared where body is gets parole

A man who murdered his wife and has never revealed where her body is can be released from prison, the Parole Board has decided.

Her family said the ruling "ripped up" Helen's Law, which places a legal duty on the Parole Board to consider the suffering caused by killers who refuse to disclose where their victim is buried.

The board said its decisions were "solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk was manageable in the community".

In its decision, the Parole Board noted the "continuing cruelty" of Razzell's refusal to say where Linda's remains are, but concluded he was no longer a risk to the public.

The full reasoning behind the decision was revealed in documents seen by the BBC.

Greg Worrall, Linda's fiance at the time of her disappearance, said: "This is just going to be another level of stress to the family and myself."

Named after Helen McCourt, who was murdered in 1988 and whose killer never revealed where her body was, Helen's Law compels the Parole Board to consider a prisoner's refusal to reveal the victim's remains when assessing their suitability for release.

The Parole Board, in its decision on Razzell, acknowledged the family's concerns and Helen's Law but added: "Denial [to reveal the victim's body's whereabouts] cannot be a bar to release."

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed to the BBC it was looking at ways to contest the parole board decision.

A spokesperson said: "Officials acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice are examining if there are grounds to challenge the Parole Board's decision through the reconsideration mechanism".

Linda, 41, was last seen parking her car in Alvescot Road in Swindon in March 2002.

She and Razzell, who is originally from Somerset, had been in the middle of divorce proceedings. She had visited a local bank with a court order to freeze his bank accounts the week before she vanished.

After initially appearing in the media to appeal for her return, Razzell was arrested and charged with her murder.

He was found guilty after a trial. Although Linda's body was never found, police were able to present forensic evidence, including traces of her blood found in the boot of a car Razzell had used.

He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 16 years.

That sentence expired in 2019, and Razzell applied for parole and was refused three times - including in 2021 when he became the first prisoner to be denied parole under Helen's Law.

The Parole Board heard another appeal from Razzell in January 2026, and the BBC has exclusively obtained a summary of its decision.

It said: "After considering the circumstances of his offending, including... his conduct while in custody and all the evidence presented at the hearing and in the dossier, the panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.

'He could reduce the pain'

"The panel considered that he could, if he had the courage and the decency, do something to reduce the family's pain in a moment, by admitting what the jury concluded he did and saying what he did after the murder," it goes on.

However, the panel found Razzell posed only a minimal risk to the public and noted that he had spent "an extensive period of time in the community, unsupervised" and that he demonstrated that "he can comply with controls placed upon him for the protection of the public".

That led the panel to decide that Razzell had passed the test to be released.

Some of the conditions of the release involve him submitting to supervision and monitoring, disclosing any relationships he gets into and complying with rules regarding using social media to protect the victim's family from further suffering.

In a statement released to the BBC, the Parole Board said: "We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Glyn Razzell following an oral hearing.

"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.

"Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority."