Colin Pitchfork, who callously raped and strangled to death two 15-year-old schoolgirls, has been released from prison after spending 33 years behind bars.
Now in his early 60s, Pitchfork was the first person in the UK to be convicted of murder purely based on DNA evidence.
At the time of his first crime in 1983, Pitchfork was a 22-year-old, married father-of-two who would then go on to commit the same horrific crime just three years later.
The double child killer was then later jailed in 1988 after he was convicted of two murders, two rapes, two indecent assaults, and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice after DNA evidence linked him to the disgraceful crimes.
Who is Colin Pitchfork and what did he do?
Colin Pitchfork raped and strangled Lynda Mann in Narborough in November 1983 and killed Dawn Ashworth three years later.
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He pleaded guilty to both murders and was given a life sentence in January 1988.
Pitchfork, who was a baker at the time, admitted exposing himself to hundreds of women and girls, starting when he was just a teenager.
Why is he being released from prison?
Pitchfork was released from prison on Wednesday, 1 September after spending 33 years behind bars, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
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Initially, the coldblooded killer was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 30 years, which was reduced by two years at a 2009 appeal.
Reacting to his release, Barbara Ashworth, the mother of Dawn Ashworth, slammed the decision to release Pitchfork from prison, affirming: "life should have meant life".
"Well, it was on the books that he was going to be released, but I don't think he should be breathing the same air as us," she told PA news agency.
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"I don't have my daughter back or any of the hopes and dreams that she had in her life.
"She was my only daughter and you live your life through them and their future - but that was taken away."
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: UK News