Murderer Russell Causley – who has never revealed where he hid his wife’s body – has been released from prison.
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed Causley, 79, who tried to get away with murder by faking his own death, is no longer an inmate at Lewes prison, in East Sussex.
The convicted killer was handed a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Carole Packman, who went missing in Bournemouth in 1985 — just a year after Causley moved his lover into their family home.
He served more than 23 years behind bars for her murder and was released in 2020, but he was sent back to prison in 2021 for breaching his licence conditions.
He has walked free once more after making history last month as the first UK prisoner to face a public parole hearing.
Announcing their decision in January, the Parole Board said they were "satisfied that Mr Causley was suitable for release.”
However, Causley and Ms Packman's daughter, Samantha Gillingham, said she was 'dissapointed' with the outcome as she branded the board's decision a 'tick-box exercise'.
Causley was first convicted of Carole's murder in 1996 — after evading the charges for over a decade by faking his own death as part of an insurance scam.
The first conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2003 but a second trial saw him found guilty and he was handed a life sentence.
The self-confessed "habitual liar" has previously admitted that he "changed stories consistently" and has never admitted to the murder despite his conviction.
Causley had always refused to reveal the location of Packman's remains but told the Parole Board last month that he had set her body on fire in his garden before disposing of her ashes.
During the hearing, which took place in Lewes prison, East Sussex, he also blamed his ex-lover, Patricia, for the murder — claiming that she hit Carole with the butt of a replica 1850s Remington revolver and that he "assumed" she then strangled her.
The panel was told police had investigated Ms Causley and could find "no credible evidence" of her involvement in Mrs Packman's murder.
Members of the public and journalists watched the proceedings live via video link from the Parole Board’s Canary Wharf office as Causley said he "loved" his wife but "adored" his mistress.
Causley was recalled to prison in November 2021 after he disappeared from his bail hostel and missed a call from his probation officer.
He claimed that he had been attacked and robbed during a day trip to Portsmouth.
At the hearing last month a panel of three judges considered the killer's evidence as well as a testimony from probation officers, a victim impact statement, and more than 650 pages of information.
Upon news of the Parole Board's decision the Justice Secretaty, Dominic Raab, dubbed Causley a "calculated killer" and said he was "carefully" considering whether to ask to the board to reconsider their decision.
Under the so-called reconsideration mechanism, introduced in July 2019, the Justice Secretary can challenge Parole Board decisions within 21 days if they believe them to be 'procedurally unfair' or 'irrational'.
Mr Raab is also able to submit appeal applications on behalf of victims, their families and members of the public.
But Ms Gillingham said: “There isn’t really anything that I can appeal on.
“They’ve heard that he’s a compulsive liar. Nothing can be believed. We still don’t know where my mother is.”
