Angel of Death's move to lower category prison blocked with no release in sight
Angel of Death baby killer Beverley Allitt's move from a secure hospital has been blocked - crushing any hopes of immediate freedom.
The twisted nurse - who killed four kids under her care in 1991 - will stay in high-security Rampton Hospital. She appeared before a mental health tribunal which ruled she should remain a patient in the Nottinghamshire psychiatric unit.
It could be as long as three years before she's assessed again. The probe was the first time the serial killer, 55, had been assessed for a potential transfer to a mainstream prison since her 30-year jail term elapsed.
Her victims' families have today told how they are "torn" by the latest developments. They want her to serve her sentence in the harsh prison estate where she would be fully punished for her horrific crimes.
But a transfer to a mainstream prison would mean she could walk free in as little as six months because she has completed her sentence.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Beverley Allitt on children's ward where she previously worked (REX/Shutterstock)
(PA)Alan Asher, 66, whose daughter Kayley was just a toddler when Allitt injected a potentially fatal air bubble under her arm, said: "In some respects I'm pleased, in others I'm not. She's not moving so she can live her life of luxury in a secure hospital, which makes me furious.
"If she was transferred to the main prison estate it would be more appropriate and she would face real justice. But then there's a chance she could be freed. We are torn."
He added: "The thought of her being granted parole or the possibility of being released is a nightmare." Kayley was 15 months old in 1991 on Ward 4 at the Grantham and Kesteven Hospital when Allitt tried to kill her. She was resuscitated but the attack caused her lungs to collapse and triggered two cardiac arrests.
She was later diagnosed with the rare condition kabuki makeup syndrome, meaning she has problems with fine motor skills, mobility and hearing. More than 30 years later she is still haunted by the evil killer nurse and fears her attacker could walk back into her family’s life.
Alan, who lives with wife Sharon, 63, in Grantham, Lincs, said: "She should never be released." Allitt was handed a minimum 30 years in 1993 for murdering four children, trying to murder three more and attacking six others.
Her killing spree at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Lincs, in 1991 lasted 59 days. She was diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome by proxy - in which a caregiver may harm someone in their care to get attention - and sent to Rampton.
It is one of three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales, and she can only bid for parole if deemed well enough to move to mainstream jail.
Alan said he believed that there was non "cure" for Munchausen syndrome, only treatment to control the symptoms. He blasted: "If there's no cure, she should never be allowed to leave the hospital."
Allitt murdered four children - seven-months-old Liam Taylor, 11-year-old Timothy Hardwick, two-month-old Becky Phillips and 15-month-old Claire Peck - and attempted to kill nine others. Staff records showed Allitt had been on duty when all the incidents occurred.
In 1993 a judge told her she was "a serious danger" to others and was unlikely ever to be considered safe enough for release. But in 2007 a High Court ruled Allitt must serve a minimum of 28 years and 175 days in jail - meaning she is now eligible for release.
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In 1994 an independent inquiry - chaired by Sir Cecil Clothier QC - into Allitt's crimes found a string of failings and sparked a review of processes. It found failures to recognise that the "cascade of collapses" in the medical conditions of patients was due to a "malevolent cause".
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