Murderer, whose vile gang kidnapped, tortured and burned alive a 16-year-old girl, was granted parole as a hearing date

A KILLER whose gang murdered a young girl singing “Burn, Baby Burn” has been walking free after being granted a parole hearing.

Glyn Powell, 58, was found guilty along with three others of burning 16-year-old Suzanne Capper alive in Greater Manchester in 1992.

9

9

9

A parole board spokesman said a hearing is expected to take place in April 2023.

After a thorough analysis of the crime, the perpetrator’s further behavior and the impact of the murder on the victim’s family, a decision is made.

Detectives conducting the investigation into Suzanne Capper’s murder highlighted its “sheer mindless brutality” – equating the level of depravity with the crimes committed by Moors killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

The trial took place in November 1993 and overlapped with the widely publicized case and trial of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.

Both were convicted on November 24 of the kidnapping and murder of James Bulger – whose mutilated body was found on a railway line in Bootle, Merseyside.

As a result, the gruesome details of the ongoing attack on Capper received comparatively muted coverage, despite the murder being one of the most shocking in recent British criminal history.

However, the murder played a role in forcing the press and leading politicians to weigh in on the state of the nation.

Then-shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair described the killings as “hammer blows to the country’s dormant conscience.”

Suzanne was lured to Jean Powell’s home in Moston – a deprived part of Manchester – on December 7, 1992.

There, Jean’s estranged husband and Anthony Dudson forced her down, shaved her head and eyebrows, and forced her to clean up and throw away the mess.

It was later revealed during the trial that she had been brutally beaten, tortured and tied to a bed for a week.

Conflicting information was given about the motive for the murder.

Suzanne had previously babysat for Powell’s children.

The next day, Capper was taken to the nearby home of Bernadette McNeilly, another individual whom she considered a friend and who had turned on her in the most malicious of ways.

During the 22-day trial, it was revealed that Capper was then tied to a bed, beaten and tortured for nearly a week.

9

9

9

Suzanne was also injected with amphetamines and had cigarettes snuffed out on her body while rave music blared – drowning out her screaming cries for help.

Prosecutors revealed that their killers’ favorite song was “Hi, I’m Chucky (Wanna Play?)” by 150 Volts, which contained samples from the movie “Child’s Play.”

The 1988 American slasher film is the first in a franchise about a serial killer who transfers his soul into an evil doll.

Before torturing Capper, McNeilly said the chilling phrase “Chucky is coming to play”.

In the early hours of December 14, 1992, Suzanne was forced into a car and driven 15 miles to a secluded road on the outskirts of Stockport, Greater Manchester.

She was pinned down in brush and doused with petrol.

McNeilly botched several attempts to set Capper on fire.

Glyn Powell and Dudson then intervened successfully – and McNeilly sang “Burn Baby Burn! Burn baby burn!’ from the Trammps song Disco Inferno.

Suzanne made it back to the main road, where she was spotted by a driver.

Suzanne was 80 percent burned and died in hospital from her injuries on December 18, 1992.

However, before Capper lost consciousness, she managed to name those responsible for her murder with her dying breath.

The jury began its deliberations on December 16, 1993 and took nine hours and 52 minutes to reach its verdict.

Mr Justice Potts said: “Each of you has been convicted on clear evidence of murder which was as appalling a murder as can be imagined.”

Glyn Powell, who was 29 at the time of the murder, Jean Powell (now Gillespie), then 26, Bernadette McNeilly, 24, and Anthony Dudson, 17, were all convicted of the murder.

Gillespie, McNeilly and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years.

Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years – later shortened to 16.

Clifford Pook, Jean’s brother, and Jeffrey Leigh pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and were sentenced to 15 and 12 years respectively.

McNeilly’s sentence was reduced by a year in 2013. Leigh’s sentence was reduced from 12 to nine years in November 1994.

McNeilly was paroled in 2015 after having her 25-year sentence reduced by a year. Dudson was released in 2013. In 2017, Jean Gillespie, formerly Powell, was released.

A spokesman for the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that Glyn Powell’s parole test has been referred to the Parole Board by the Attorney General and is following standard procedures. A hearing is expected to take place in April 2023.

“The parole board’s decisions focus solely on what risk a prisoner might pose to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

“A panel will carefully examine a variety of evidence, including details of the original crime and any evidence of behavior modification, as well as the harm done and the impact the crime had on victims.

“Testimony may be presented at the hearing, including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officers supervising the offender in prison, as well as personal statements from the victim.

“It is customary for the prisoner and witnesses to be extensively questioned during the hearing, which often lasts a full day or more. Probation tests are carried out thoroughly and with the utmost care. Protecting the public is our top priority.”

9

9

9