A vicious killer who strangled a Fife teenager and dumped her body in a bin has failed in a bid for freedom.
Colyn Evans murdered 16-year-old Karen Dewar in Tayport in 2005 by strangling and stabbing her before setting fire to her body.
Welshman Evans, who has been moved to a prison in England, applied for parole last March, having served 17 years behind bars.
He also requested a move to an open prison.
Both submissions were rejected by the Parole Board for England and Wales.
It was considered whether Evans, 35, was deemed to pose an ongoing risk to the public and whether any risk could be managed in the community.
Details such as the gravity of the original crime, evidence of behaviour change since, and the impact of the crime on the victims were also considered.
Online justice affairs magazine 1919 said it is understood Evans will be eligible for a further review “in due course” but no details were released as to when that would be.
Murder shocked the country
The murder of childcare student Karen Dewar shocked the country.
Evans, then 17, lived on the same street as the Dewar family – Karen and parents Frank and Allison – in Tayport and she had befriended him as a new arrival in the area.
She and friends would visit where he lived, alone, in a “scatter flat” because he was lonely.
Evans abused her pity with a murderous attack and then tried to dismember her body and stuff it into a bin, before setting it alight.
It later emerged the troubled teenager had been in the community with little monitoring, despite his extensive record of concerning and deviant behaviour.
His first sex offence – an indecent exposure – came when he was just 12 and he was later charged with lewd and libidinous behaviour following inappropriate sexual conduct with two girls under the age of 16.
Months afterwards, Evans was accused of trying to remove a young boy from school by producing a fake note, pretending it was from the boy’s parents and was also reported for attacking an eight-year-old boy and indecent exposure.
Evans was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in jail and was moved south to be closer to his family – which returned to Wales from their home in Kennoway – in preparation for his eventual release.
The Dewars accused authorities of “dumping” Evans in their village but demands for a public inquiry were rejected.
At the time of sentencing, Karen’s father Frank Dewar said: “Our family… are going through a life sentence.
“We feel that if he gets out he will be dumped on someone else’s street to do the same again and destroy another family.”
Parole Board hearing
A spokesman for the Parole Board in England said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Colyn Evans following a paper review in March 2022.
“The panel also refused to recommend a move to open prison.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“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.
“Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course.
“The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.”
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed Evans remains a prisoner in England.
Killer’s ‘brass neck’
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Jamie Greene said: “The ruling by the parole board in relation to this violent offender is extremely welcome and that feeling will be shared by the public and no doubt those connected with the victim of this horrific crime.
“This heinous crime saw the brutal and horrific murder of a young girl.
“It is a total insult to the loved ones of Karen Dewar that this killer had the brass neck to even apply for parole or to be moved within the prison estate.
“Killers like Colyn Evans rightly should be kept behind bars if there is even the slightest doubt over the potential risk they pose the public on release.”
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