Shoe-fetish murderer who raped and killed Wakefield woman denied parole

Wendy Speakes was murdered in her own home.

Christopher Farrow was jailed for life in 2000 for killing mother-of-two Wendy Speakes in 1994.

He was also given concurrent sentences for rape, a further serious sexual offence and attempted burglary.

The Parole Board decided Farrow was not suitable to be freed from jail or to be transferred to an open prison.

The house on Balne Lane where Mrs Speakes was killed.

A document detailing the decision said: "After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody, and the other evidence presented at the hearing and in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Farrow was suitable for release.

"Nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that Mr Farrow should be transferred to open prison.

"Because the panel considered Mr Farrow needed to continue addressing problem areas and to develop appropriate skills, it concluded he was appropriately located in custody where outstanding levels of risk could be addressed.

"The benefits of a move to open conditions at this time were considered by the panel to be limited and to be outweighed by the remaining risks that Mr Farrow represents.

"He will be eligible for another parole review in due course."

Mrs Speake's daughter Tracey Millington-Jones has long campaigned to keep her mother's killer locked up forever.

It was Farrow's second review since first becoming eligible to be considered for release in 2018.

During his trial, jurors heard Farrow had put a pair of women's shoes on display during the attack because he liked "looking at shoes when having sex".

He also forced her to wear another pair of shoes while carrying out the attack after tying her up with tights before stabbing her 11 times at her home on Balne Lane in Wakefield.

Farrow initially tried to rape a barmaid and followed her for several days and unsuccessfully tried to get into her home before targeting Mrs Speakes, who he spoke to on the doorstep before forcing his way into her house.

He said he carried out the rape because his sex life with his partner was "absolutely zero".

A huge police investigation was launched to find Mrs Speakes' killer, with DNA tests carried out on thousands of men.

Farrow was caught in 2000 after fingerprints taken during a 1996 drink-driving arrest matched those in an unsolved crimes database, while his DNA was linked to blood found at the crime scene.

According to the Parole Board document, Farrow wanted to involve violence as well as holding "generally negative views about women" after a problematic relationship leading to feelings of "frustration and anger".

His probation officer and officials overseeing his case "could not support release at this point" and warned more work is needed to address risks he could pose.