Linda Razzell: will murderer reveal what happened to missing mum, 20 years on?
Glyn Razzell was convicted of murdering Linda Razzell, originally from Carmarthenshire, in 2003
Last updated 24th Aug 2023
Four siblings, who have waited more than 20 years to hear what happened to their missing mother, could be about to get an answer.
Linda Razzell, originally from Carmarthenshire, disappeared in March 2002 whilst on her way to work at Swindon College in Wiltshire. The then-41-year-old hasn't been seen since and her body was never found.
Linda's estranged husband, Glyn Razzell from Somerset, denied the killing. The pair were embroiled in divorce proceedings when she went missing.
Following a Wiltshire Police murder investigation, the 64-year-old was convicted of Linda's murder by a jury in 2003 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He never explained what happened to his wife, but today has the chance to reveal the details. The former Crewkerne resident will face a public parole board hearing, where a panel is expected to decide whether or not he can be released from prison.
Helen's Law
In October 2021, Razzell was refused release from prison under Helen's Law. This makes it harder for killers to get parole if they don't reveal where they hid their victim's body.
The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020 was named after Helen McCourt, an insurance clerk who vanished on her way home from work in Merseyside, in 1988.
Ian Simms was jailed in 1989 for Helen's murder, but never revealed the location of her body. He was released from prison in 2020 and died in June 2022.
Helen's mother, Marie McCourt, spent five years campaigning for the legislation before it gained Royal Assent.
"I just thought that it was wrong that somebody could kill somebody, hide their body, and still look for being released (from prison).
"It's horrific. I just know how I felt that Tuesday night, waiting for Helen ... young girls like Helen, they can't just disappear. There's got to be something done about it.
"You can't hide a body. If you want to get out of prison, then you've got to say what you did and where you put the body," she said.
'This case has been subject to a number of reviews'
DCI Phil Walker, from Wiltshire Police, added: "As in any murder case where a victim’s body has not been located, this case has been subject to a number of reviews over the last 20 years, but these have not generated any further lines of enquiry.
"The parole hearing process is not a matter for us to comment on".
Razzell's two-day parole hearing, his third such review, will be held at the open prison where he is currently based. A live stream will be shown to a public gallery, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.