The man who murdered mother-of-three Glenda Hoskins has died in prison weeks after it emerged he was being considered for release on compassionate grounds.
Victor Farrant was convicted of the murder of his former girlfriend Mrs Hoskins, 44, and the attempted murder of Ann Fidler, 45, in 1996.
Sentencing him to jail for life in 1998, Mr Justice Butterfield said Farrant was so dangerous that he should “never be released”.
He died at HMP Wakefield on Friday 3 May after suffering from a “longstanding health condition”, the Prison Service has said.
Earlier this year Mrs Hoskins’ children Iain, Katie and David said they had been contacted by officials who said that Farrant was being considered for compassionate leave as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and could have months to live.
The Hoskins family has said Farrant’s death ends an “agonising two months” since they heard he was being considered for early release.
They added that the “lack of information” they had received and “clarity of the steps in this process was bewildering and unnecessary”.
In a joint statement on Monday, they said: “Farrant’s whole life sentence and the judge’s remarks that he should die in prison should have been respected.
“However, Farrant’s death, like his imprisonment, changes nothing for us, the circumstances and death of our mother, Glenda Hoskins, will haunt us for the rest of our lives.
“His death, though, does bring to a close a very painful chapter for us all.
“We, and the public at large should certainly feel safer that this repeat-offender psychopath will not strike again.”
A Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) meeting in April looked at the case which the Hoskins family said had been passed on to the prison governor to decide whether to make a formal application for his release.
Read more from Sky News:
CoppaFeel! founder dies aged 38
Body of British man found in Prague river
Singe-sex toilets to be mandatory in new bars
A reconstructed bottle that was smashed after Farrant used it to attack Ann Fidler. Pic: PA
Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt had urged Justice Secretary Alex Chalk not to release Farrant after it emerged he may be freed.
Farrant was jailed in November 1988 for 12 years for rape and other offences, but just weeks after he was released on 7 November 1995, he beat Ms Fidler with wine bottles at her home in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Six weeks later, he murdered accountant Mrs Hoskins at her luxury waterside home in Portsmouth by pushing her under water in the bath.
He left her body in the attic where it was found by her daughter Katie, who was 15 at the time.
After killing Ms Hoskins, Farrant went on the run and was eventually found in the south of France.
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Victor Farrant died on May 3 at HMP Wakefield.
“As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”
Source Agencies
