The first public hearing in British history has been postponed after “convincing evidence” emerged of a “long campaign” to undermine the trial that jeopardized the prisoner’s safety.
The next assessment to consider whether Russell Causley, who murdered his wife and never revealed where he hid her body, could be released from prison, was to take place on Thursday.
It would be the first hearing of its kind not to take place behind closed doors following legislative changes.
But the Parool Board said Tuesday the hearing had been postponed after the panel of judges was due to hear the case “very recently received compelling evidence that a lengthy campaign has been undertaken not only to undermine Mr Causley’s risk management plan, but also his personal safety”.
It will likely be some time before a new date is set, meaning another parole hearing for another inmate could be the first to take place in public instead.
Now 79, Causley was sentenced to life in prison for killing Carole Packman who disappeared in 1985 — a year after he found his lover at their home. BournemouthDorset.
Causley was released from prison in 2020 after serving more than 23 years for the murder, but was returned to prison in November last year for violating his licensing terms. He never disclosed the location of Mrs. Packman’s body.
Their daughter, Samantha Gillingham, who was 16 when her mother went missing, has campaigned for years with her son Neil to keep her father behind bars and to make his case heard publicly.
The Parole Board said: “The hearing on the parole in the case of Russell Causley, which was scheduled for October 6, had to be postponed.
“The panel has very recently received compelling evidence that a lengthy campaign has been conducted to undermine not only Mr Causley’s risk management plan, but also his personal safety. In the circumstances, the panel has had to adjourn the public hearing to ensure it can be properly administered in accordance with due process for all parties and the victims.
“The Parole Board had ruled that this hearing would be held in public and that it would be the first case where the media and the public could witness a parole review. This ruling still stands and, once a new date for the hearing is confirmed, those who registered to attend will be contacted with details. ”
Parole Board documents revealed that Causley did not want the hearing to take place in public and had indicated that he would not be allowed to testify if the request was granted.
Causley initially evaded justice for most of a decade after the murder by faking his own death as part of an insurance scam.
He was first convicted of murder in 1996, but this was overturned by the Court of Appeal in June 2003, after which he had to undergo a second trial for murder and was found guilty again.