With senseless violence they robbed a hardworking family man of his life as he made his way home to his beloved wife.
Caring dad-of-two Robin Chard did not stand a chance after he crossed paths with thugs Joseph Mee and Christopher Smith, who kicked and stamped on him in a ferocious, unprovoked attack near his Gateshead home.
The evil killers were both jailed for life after being convicted of 47-year-old Robin's horrific murder.
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While Robin's widow and children were left with their own life sentence of grief and pain.
And now the family is struggling to come to terms with the fact that both his killers could soon be back on the streets.
Mee was freed in 2019 despite an impassioned plea from the innocent victim's loved ones.
And after a parole hearing last month it was recommended that Smith be be moved to a low security 'open' prison, a decision that has left Robin's wife, Angela, devastated.
The 64-year-old said: "It's just horrendous. Just the thought of them getting on with their lives when Robin can't is horrible. It's just not right."
However, the Parole Board said Smith was not yet safe to be be released into the community and would not be moved to open conditions without the approval of the Secretary of State for Justice.
Robin had everything to live for when his life was cruelly cut short on April 23, 2004.
The kitchen and bedroom designer, had met Angela when they worked together as teenagers and the couple married when he was 19 and she was 18.
They had two children, Joanne and Garry, soon after.
On the night Robin was killed, Angela, a professional club singer, had travelled down to Stockton, in Teesside, to perform.
So Robin decided to go into Newcastle to meet some friends for a drink.
When Angela returned to their Felling home she was confused to discover her husband was not there, until she picked up an answer machine message and discovered Robin had been invited out for a drink with some friends.
However, when Angela went to bed she became worried that her husband was still not home.
She rang the friend he had been with who told her he had left Robin finishing off his drink in Newcastle.
Then when Angela rang her husband’s phone a stranger answered and told her she had the wrong number.
She rang again and this time the line went dead.
Worried Angela then decided to walk up to Heworth Metro Station, where Robin would have got off the train, with their dog to try and find him.
Tragically, Angela had no idea at the time that she walked close to where her beloved husband was already lying dead, having been brutally attacked by strangers 27-year-old Mee, and Smith then 24, around three hours earlier.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how the attackers boarded the Metro Robin was on at Gateshead.
The pair were both high on a cocktail of amphetamines, cannabis, cider and lager, and targeted Robin from behind, before launching a frenzied attack during which the defenceless victim was repeatedly kicked and stamped on.
Robin’s body was discovered by a neighbour the following morning, after Angela had reported him missing to police.
He was so badly beaten he was barely recognisable.
Detectives were able to trace Smith and Mee’s movements before Robin was killed on CCTV.
The pair also left damning forensic evidence in the form of a microscopic amount of blood in Robin’s pocket which was matched to Smith.
Detectives believe it got there as Smith stole Robin’s personal items.
Smith, of Pankhurst Gardens, and Mee of Whitemere Gardens, both in Wardley, Gateshead, were jailed for life after pleading guilty to murder.
Judge John Milford said he was satisfied Smith had been the instigator of the violence and that Mee had joined in.
He ordered Smith should serve at least 17 years before he is considered for parole. Mee must serve 15.
But Angela does not believe killers capable of such violence can ever be safe for release.
"They are not safe to be released at all," she said. "Just the thought of them walking the streets is horrible. Somebody is going to be sitting next to them somewhere and they will have no idea they are sitting next to a murderer."
And Angela said news of her husband's killers' parole hearings has brought the agonising pain of her loss back to the surface.
"We have just got to get on with things, but it's always there," she said. "I have had so many dreams about Robin recently. Sometimes they are nice dreams, but sometimes they are horrible dreams where I'm angry with him for leaving me.
"It's never-ending."
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “The Parole Board refused the release of Christopher Smith but recommended a move to an open conditions prison following an oral hearing.
“This was a recommendation only and the Secretary of State for Justice considers the advice before making the final decision on whether a prisoner is suitable for open conditions. We will only make a recommendation for open conditions if a Parole Board panel is satisfied that the risk to the public has reduced sufficiently to be manageable in an open prison.
“A move to open conditions involves testing the prisoner’s readiness for any potential return into the community in future. Prisoners moved to open conditions can be returned to closed conditions if there is concern about their behaviour.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public. A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims."
“Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
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