Russell Causley, 79, was jailed for life in 1996 for the murder of Carole Packman, who disappeared from the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 1985.
Causley, a wealthy businessman who ran an insurance business, had already moved his lover, Patricia Causley, into the family home and adopted her surname.
Causley’s daughter Samantha Gillingham was 16 when her mother went missing and she has long campaigned against her father’s release and for parole hearings to be in public.
He was freed from prison in 2020 after serving 23 years in jail but was put back behind bars after breaching the terms of his parole.
At the parole hearing in December 2022, Causley said: “I lied. I’ve lied consistently. I’ve changed stories consistently,” but he still maintained he had not murdered his wife.
His latest version of events was that another individual, who he did not name, strangled Packman. Causley admits disposing of the body by burning it and scattering the ashes on a golf course at Meyrick Park, near Bournemouth.
Gillingham told The Epoch Times last month that her father had shown her and her son, Neil, “utter contempt” and said he had shown “no remorse” and did not deserve to be released.
Parole Board Accepts Causley Is ‘Self-Confessed Liar’
It went on to say: “The panel noted that Mr Causley is a self-confessed liar who has given a series of accounts of the fate of his wife. Although Mr Causley has previously admitted responsibility, he now maintains that he is innocent of the murder of his wife, although he does accept that he disposed of her body. Legislation known as ‘Helen’s Law’ does not apply in this case because Mr Causley is a recalled prisoner.”Gillingham told the PA news agency she was “disappointed” by the decision but said: “Of course he was going to get released. It is what it is and there’s nothing that I can do about it.”
She described the parole process as a “tick-box exercise.”
Gillingham said she wanted to meet her father and confront him about what really happened to her mother.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said he was considering whether to appeal against the Parole Board’s decision to release Causley, who he described as a “calculated killer who has callously prolonged the suffering of Carole Packman’s loved ones by refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her body.”
Although Packman vanished in 1985, Causley—who then faked his own death in a bid to claim on his life insurance—was not convicted of murder until 1996.
His conviction was then quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2003, but he was convicted of murder again at a retrial.
Last month he made a rambling and incoherent account of the circumstances which led to his wife’s death.
Gillingham, who now lives in Northamptonshire, recalled the day her mother went missing in 1985.
She told The Epoch Times: “We returned home and now I know the scene had been set for my return. She’d gone. And yes bearing in mind the set-up I can see why she would. I had no reason to think anything was untoward.”
Gillingham said her father asked her to leave a few months after her mother vanished and she recalled swearing at Causley and his lover and walking out.
‘Done Little in Prison to Address His Risk Factors’
In its ruling, the Parole Board said: “Evidence was presented at the hearings regarding Mr Causley’s progress and custodial conduct during this sentence and since his recall. He had done little in prison to address his risk factors, however, no behaviour concerns had been reported in custody and he had been employed in trusted roles.”It added, “The panel reviewed professional reports which identified a low risk of further offending and it was advised by the witnesses that Mr Causley would present a low risk of harm to the public, and that his level of risk could be managed by the proposed release plan.”
The Parole Board said Causley would face “strict” licence conditions on his release, including being required to live at a certain address and facing restrictions on who he is able to contact.
