Female double murderer could be moved to open jail

Britain's youngest female double murderer will not be released from prison but could instead be moved to an open jail.

Lorraine Thorpe was 15 when she murdered her father Desmond and a woman called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009.

Thorpe, from Ipswich, was convicted of the killings in 2010, and was told she would spend at least 14 years in prison.

The Parole Board said Thorpe, now 31, should not be released but could be transferred to an open facility.

Thorpe and her accomplice, 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who died in prison in 2014, repeatedly beat and tortured Rosalyn, before smothering Desmond, 43, a vulnerable alcoholic.

The two bodies were discovered at separate flats.

Thorpe became Britain's youngest convicted female double murderer after the pair's trial at Ipswich Crown Court.

In a decision released on Tuesday, the Parole Board said Thorpe, who has spent all her adult life in prison, needed to be tested in less restrictive prison conditions before she could be considered for release.

"After considering the circumstances of her offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel agreed that Ms Thorpe should not be released," the board said.

The panel noted Thorpe's "general maturation" and "the fact that she had not evidenced violence or aggression for many years", adding that her "risk of violence towards others had reduced by her own actions in custody."

She will be eligible for another parole review in the future.

Mary Bell, detained at the age of 11 in 1968 for the manslaughter of two boys aged three and four, remains the youngest female killer.

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