Sadistic killer who stabbed woman to death should be freed, Parole Board says

A killer who brutally raped and murdered 29-year-old Joanne Tulip could be freed from prison.

Steven Ling, a farm labourer, raped and stabbed Ms Tulip 60 times in a sadistic murder 27 years ago.

He was jailed for life in December 1998 after admitting his attack in Stamfordham, Northumberland.

Now the convicted murderer has been recommended for release after his fifth parole hearing.

When he was sentenced to life back in 1998, the judge Mr Justice Potts told Ling, who was 23 at the time of the murder, that he was motivated by an ‘aspiration of sadism.’

The judge also stated that Ling will ‘never be released so long as it is thought you constitute a danger to women.’

He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years which was reduced to 18 years by the High Court.

Ling is not a convicted sex offender after the charge of rape was left on file during the original court case – although in its ruling the Parole Board stated that Ling has ‘always accepted that he raped the victim.’

‘Monstrous’ past

In July, two psychologists for the Parole Board agreed that Ling should be freed from prison.

They spoke about his enduring ‘shame’ about his ‘monstrous’ past.

Doreen Soulsby, Ms Tulip’s mother, has slammed the parole exercise a farce after a ruling that her daughter’s killer’s evidence could be given in private.

In its published decision, the Parole Board panel said: ‘The panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.’

His release was subject to conditions, which include informing the authorities of any relationships he might develop; being subject to monitoring and a curfew and staying out of an exclusion zone to avoid contact with his victim’s family.

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