Libby Squire's mum tells MPs her murderer will kill again if he's ever released

21 February 2024 , 12:27

418     0

Libby Squire, who was murdered in 2019, pictured with her mum Lisa

The mum of tragic Libby Squire has warned MPs her daughter's murderer will kill again if he's ever released.

Lisa Squire said Pawel Relowicz must spend the rest of his life behind bars. He is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years for raping and murdering Libby, 21, in 2019.

Before murdering Libby after she'd been on a night out in Hull, Relowicz had carried out a string of sex offences including indecent exposure and voyeurism. Mrs Squire said those convicted of these crimes should get harsher punishments, stating they are currently given a "slap on the wrist".

She told members of the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee: "Two hours after raping and murdering our daughter he was out on the streets looking for a second victim. He got life with a minimum of 27 years. He was 24 when he killed Libby. He'll come out and do it again.

Lisa Squire called for tougher penalties for sex crimes like indecent exposure

"So in my opinion if you murder you should stay in prison for the rest of your life." She called for harsher sentences for those convicted of sex crimes like indecent exposure, and treatment for offenders to stop them doing it again.

Predator who raped and murdered student Libby Squire got £110,000 in legal aid

Mrs Squire said: "It needs to be harsh. It is a slap on the wrist for the majority." And she continued: "I think that if a man is caught and prosecuted it should be a fairly harsh sentence. He also needs treatment because we need go to treatment services to unpick what his thought patterns are to make him think that it's okay to do that to a young girl walking down the street minding their own business or waiting at a bus stop.

"It's no good to just keep punishing people unless they learn that what they're doing is wrong."

Pawel Relowicz will kill again if he's ever released, MPs were told (MEN MEDIA)

And she called on people who are victims of non-contact sex crimes to always report them. Describing Relowicz's behaviour before Libby's murder, Mrs Squire said: "Each occasion I could see a link between his offending and the eventual rape, the murder of my daughter.

"And over the 18 months prior to her dying, he had escalated massively and nobody seemed to know anything about it." She added: "Not all non-contact sexual offenders will go on strike for murder, but some do. And to me, if we can stop it here we're going to save women and girls from the absolute trauma of being raped."

She said that when she speaks to groups of young women, around 75% will have experienced non-contact sex offences, but very few report them. Mrs Squire said Libby had been a victim in the November before her death.

"She was absolutely furious and I talked her down," she said. "I didn't think to tell her to report it because I didn't know better then." She described indecent exposure as "a crime of intimidation" and a "crime of entitlement", adding that most "normal mean don't do it".

Dave Burke