A Southport man who received a life sentence for the murder of his wife will not be released from prison following a Parole Board hearing.
Mitchell Quy strangled his wife and mum-of-two Lynsey Quy to death in 1998. Quy spent the next 18 months pretending that his wife had gone missing.
Quy was jailed for life in January 2001 after it emerged that he had scattered parts of his wife's body across the seaside town. He was ordered to spend a minimum of 17 years in prison before he could be considered for parole.
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That initial 17 year period has now passed and this is the third time parole has been rejected. Quy, 47, actually attempted to withdraw this application before the hearing on May 5 but the panel was duty bound to proceed anyway.
The Parole Board has now decided not to release Quy from prison following a hearing. The panel found that although Quy had made improvements in certain areas, there were still concerns.
A decision summary released by the Parole Board revealed issues around Quy's behaviour to other prisoners and to staff. There were also concerns that he was involved with drugs in the prison.
It reads: "However, some concerns had also emerged about his conduct in relationships with friends, professional staff and other prisoners. Reports gave examples of incidents when he had acted on grievances and been aggressive towards others. There were also some concerns about his involvement with drugs in the prison.
"Professional staff had identified the need for further interventions to address Mr Quy’s risks in relationships, and the risk of violence if he became preoccupied with a specific problem, struggled to deal with it, and still lacked the capacity to be in full control of his emotions.
"Reports also suggested he needed to work on developing more open and trusting relationships with staff."
The panel also found that a plan submitted by a probation officer to return Quy to the community was not 'robust enough.' The panel also decided not to move Quy to a low security or open prison.
The panel concluded: "After considering the very serious nature and circumstances of his offending, the mixed picture in relation to the progress made during the course of his sentence so far, and the very full evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Quy was suitable for release.
"Nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that Mr Quy should be transferred to an open prison. It was satisfied that he was appropriately located in a closed prison where outstanding levels of risk could be addressed. He will be eligible for another parole review in due course."
The case was referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Mitchell Quy following a parole review. The panel also refused to recommend a move to open conditions. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 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.
“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing. The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care.
“Protecting the public is our number one priority. Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.”
