Detective who snared killer Colin Pitchfork slams decision to free him
‘Do they know what he did to those girls?’: Top detective who snared double killer Colin Pitchfork slams decision to free him from jail after 33 years
- Retired police officer David Baker helped capture Colin Pitchfork back in 1980s
- Detective said Parole Board did not consult him on approving Pitchfork’s release
- He warned 61-year-old paedophile was still physically capable of attacking girls
The detective who snared double killer Colin Pitchfork has slammed the decision to free the sex monster, saying he remains a danger.
Retired officer David Baker said he was not consulted by Parole Board members before they approved Pitchfork’s release on licence.
He warned that, at 61, the paedophile remained physically capable of attacking girls again.
Detective Superintendent Baker, whose use of DNA evidence helped prove Pitchfork raped and murdered 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, said the full extent of the bakery worker’s brutality in the attacks was never revealed.
His call for the killer to remain behind bars comes after relatives of his victims also condemned the Parole Board’s decision.
Retired officer David Baker said he was not consulted by Parole Board members before they approved Colin Pitchfork’s release on licence
Detective Superintendent Baker, whose use of DNA evidence helped prove Pitchfork (pictured) raped and murdered 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, said the full extent of the bakery worker’s brutality in the attacks was never revealed
Pitchfork’s murders on footpaths between two Leicestershire villages in 1983 and 1986 were solved when Mr Baker approached Leicester University professor Sir Alec Jeffreys for help, having read about his pioneering work in DNA fingerprinting.
But Pitchfork almost got away with the crimes after persuading a workmate to pose as him during a blood-testing dragnet.
Echoing the warnings of Dawn’s mother Barbara Ashworth in yesterday’s Mail, Mr Baker, 85, said he fears Pitchfork could ‘pull the wool over people’s eyes again’.
He said: ‘I understand the Parole Board claims to have spoken to the police as part of the process that led to their decision, but they certainly have not spoken to me.
Victims: Furious relatives of the two schoolgirls murdered by a notorious paedophile have condemned a decision to let him go free. Left: Lynda Mann, right: Dawn Ashworth
‘As the chief investigating officer in the case, I know what kind of person Pitchfork is and the extent to which he tried to evade arrest.
‘Because of his guilty pleas, what never came out at any court hearing was the levels of violence he caused to the two girls. You wonder if the Parole Board are aware of exactly what he did to the girls.
‘While he has been in jail he has been out of temptation’s way, but once freed he will be back in the community where there are countless young girls to tempt him.’
Pitchfork was jailed for life for the two rapes and murders in 1988 and given a minimum tariff of 30 years, later reduced to 28.
The Parole Board’s decision, published on Monday, means he could be freed in weeks.
