A man who murdered his wife in Swindon and has never revealed the location of her body will be released from prison, the BBC reports.
Glyn Razzell was jailed for life in November 2003 for killing Linda Razzell, who disappeared on her way to work in Swindon in 2002. Her body has never been found.
According to the BBC, the Parole Board has now directed his release following an hearing in January 2026. Razzell’s original minimum term expired in 2019.
He had previously been refused parole three times, including in 2021 when he became the first prisoner to be denied release under Helen’s Law.
Helen’s Law places a legal duty on the Parole Board to consider the added suffering caused when killers refuse to disclose the location of their victim’s remains.
Linda’s family told the BBC the latest ruling had “ripped up” Helen’s Law.
In a statement, 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.”
The decision summary, obtained by the BBC, noted the “continuing cruelty” of Razzell’s refusal to reveal where Linda’s remains are.
It said 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”.
However, the panel concluded that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public and that Razzell posed only a minimal risk.
Conditions of his release include supervision and monitoring, disclosing any new relationships and complying with rules around social media use to protect the victim’s family from further suffering.
