Essex woman bids to keep mother's killer behind bars
Wendy Speakes was murdered in 1994 - and her daughter is trying to prevent the man who killed her being paroled
Last updated 25th Nov 2022
An Essex women whose mum was murdered in West Yorkshire says violence against women and girls must be taken seriously - as she fights to keep her mum's killer behind bars.
Christopher Farrow from Leeds carried out the random killing of Wendy Speakes at her home in Wakefield in 1994.
He forced his way into the 51-year-old receptionist’s home before raping her and stabbing her to death. He took a pair of her shoes as a ‘trophy’.
The father-of-three was caught after a six-year manhunt and jailed for life in 2000 with a minimum of 18 years.
Farrow also admitted the attempted burglary of another woman’s house with intent to rape her less than an hour earlier.
Today Wendy’s daughter Tracey Millington-Jones, from Southend, will have to relive the trauma of her mother’s death at a parole board hearing.
It’s the third time she’s attended one, with the process repeating every two years.
In 2018, the Parole Board recommended Farrow be moved to an open prison in preparation for eventual release but he was later returned to a secure prison.
“I thought life meant life,” says Tracey.
“And I was told by the police and everyone that he’ll never be released. So I was given that kind of security that it’s done now and I need to get on with my life.
“But every two years I now have to go to the parole hearing. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I have to and I will carry on.
“That I think is wrong. It’s the injustice of it, and I have to try and deal with that every day and not let it affect my mental health and my life. I have to carry on as my mum would want me to. But women will be in danger if the parole board decide to release Christopher Farrow.
“We should be taking the protection of women and girls on the streets and in their homes seriously, and we’re not.
“We’ve had all these ladies that have been murdered. Obviously Sarah Everard is quite a known name, Bibaa Henry, Nicola Smallman, Ashley Murphy, Sabina Nessa. These are important ladies. These are innocent women who were killed by stranger murders.”
In a statement the Parole Board said:
“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.”