Glyn Razzell, 66, will remain in prison after the High Court overturned a Parole Board decision that would have allowed his release, more than two decades after he murdered his wife, Linda Razzell, and refused to say where her body was hidden. Linda vanished on her way to work in Swindon in March 2002, and Razzell was convicted of her murder in 2003. The High Court's ruling, delivered after a two-day hearing, means he cannot be freed for now.
Razzell, a former insurance investment manager from Crewkerne in Somerset, was jailed for life in 2003 with a minimum term of 16 years after a jury found him guilty of killing Linda, a mother of four who was 41 when she disappeared. He has never disclosed what happened to her remains, and her body has never been found.
What did the Parole Board decide, and why was it overturned?
In April, a Parole Board panel concluded that Razzell no longer posed a risk to the public and approved his release on licence, stating that his continued imprisonment was "no longer necessary for the protection of the public". The Ministry of Justice referred that decision to the High Court, a step it can take when it believes a prisoner's release would damage public confidence in the parole system. During the subsequent two-day hearing, barristers acting for the Ministry of Justice argued that the Parole Board panel had not properly assessed the risk Razzell posed, and the court ultimately agreed, reversing the decision to release him.
How does Helen's Law affect this case?
Razzell applied for parole on three occasions before the Parole Board approved his release in April. When his second application was rejected in 2021, he became the first prisoner refused parole under Helen's Law, legislation that requires the Parole Board to weigh a killer's refusal to disclose the location of a victim's body when deciding on release.
What happened when Linda Razzell disappeared?
Linda, who was originally from Llanybydder in Wales, was last seen parking her car on Alvescot Road while travelling to her job at Swindon College in March 2002. At the time, she was in the middle of divorce proceedings from Razzell and had visited a bank the week before she disappeared with a court order to freeze his accounts. Detectives later found traces of blood in the boot of a car Razzell had been using. According to a regional news report, police also recovered Linda's mobile phone from a recess near the alleyway close to where her car had been parked, adding to the evidence gathered around her disappearance. A dedicated case archive notes that the search for her remains eventually covered more than 200 locations across the Swindon area, though her body was never recovered.
What have Linda's family said about his possible release?
Linda's cousin, Julie Westmore, told the court she would not feel safe if Razzell were released and feared that any hope of finding Linda's remains would be lost.
"All hope of ever finding [her] remains will be lost" if Razzell was released, Julie Westmore said, adding she would not "feel safe".
According to a national broadcaster's report, Linda's daughter has separately said publicly that her father should not be released until her mother's body is found, adding a further family objection to the dispute over his parole. Separately, in earlier proceedings covered in our own reporting, Linda's former partner told the High Court that Razzell continues to exert coercive control over the family even from prison, a claim that formed part of the wider case against his release.
What has Razzell said about his wife's fate?
According to the same regional report, Razzell has told a later hearing that he cannot reveal a burial location because he says he does not know that Linda is dead, a position that stands in direct contrast to his 2003 conviction for her murder.
What is the historical background to this case?
Razzell's attempt to overturn his original murder conviction failed in 2005, according to archived coverage of the appeal, leaving his life sentence in place. The same reporting notes that Linda was reported missing after she failed to collect her two youngest children from an after-school club, which first triggered the police search that eventually led to her husband's arrest and conviction.
What happens next?
With the High Court having overturned the Parole Board's release decision, Razzell will remain in custody unless he mounts a further legal challenge or becomes eligible for another parole review, according to a national broadcaster's follow-up report. No date for any fresh review has yet been confirmed.
Key Facts
- Linda Razzell disappeared in Swindon in March 2002, aged 41, while on her way to work.
- Glyn Razzell, now 66, was jailed for life in 2003 with a 16-year minimum term for her murder.
- He became the first prisoner denied parole under Helen's Law in 2021 for refusing to disclose a victim's remains.
- The Parole Board approved his release in April, but the Ministry of Justice referred the decision to the High Court, which overturned it after a two-day hearing.
- Police reportedly searched more than 200 locations around Swindon in the effort to find Linda's body, which has never been recovered.
