Murderer in Helen's Law hearing says he 'doesn't even know' if his wife is dead
A wife killer who refused to reveal where he hid her body has vowed to track her down if he is freed, saying: "I don't even know if she's dead."
Glyn Razzell, 64, is fighting to be freed from a life sentence for the murder of his estranged spouse Linda, 41, in 2002. He has whined that he was wrongly convicted and that his wife had "fabricated her disappearance in order to frame him".
Razzell on Thursday told his public parole hearing that if he walked free he would try to trace Linda, saying: "I don't know where she is, I would love to find out." Asked if that was something he would pursue, he replied: "Yes, I have to, for my children. Although they may not see it that way."
Razzell is one of the first prisoners to be affected by Helen's Law, a campaign that makes it harder for killers to get parole if they refuse to reveal the whereabouts of their victims. The change came about after a campaign by The Mirror.
Linda Razzell was murdered at the hands of her husband (PA)During his public parole hearing, it emerged cowardly Razzell - who is in an undisclosed open prison and works as a minibus driver for convicted inmates - had refused to listen to emotional statements from his victims.
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The defiant murderer suggested his wife may have been alive after she vanished - accusing her of being "manipulative" as their marriage crashed. Razzell claimed that Linda had "monstered" him as part of divorce proceedings in a bid to keep the couple's four children.
Softly spoken Razzell told the hearing: "I don't know where Linda's remains are, I don't even know if she's dead at all. I'm sorry if that upsets people. I understand the anguish to my children, I understand the way they feel, if there was anything I could do to help with that, I really would, particularly for my children. I don't know where the remains are, I don't even know if she's dead."
Razell was asked three questions: if he killed Linda, if he planned to kill Linda and how he killed Linda. Each time he calmly responded: "I did not kill Linda." Razzell, who lived in Crewkerne, Somerset, was jailed after Linda's blood was found on the parcel shelf of a car he had borrowed from a friend - key evidence that led to his conviction.
But on Thursday he told forensic psychologists sitting on the Parole Board panel, that the blood splatter had been planted there with Linda's co-operation.
The scene in Wiltshire near the house of Linda Razzell where police began digging in 2019 (WesternDailyPress)Razzell complained: "I think it was placed there to incriminate me. It must have been with Linda's involvement because it was fresh blood." He added: "I'm not victim-blaming her, I'm saying she was alive and well after she disappeared."
Razzell said his children were told by a police liaison officer that he had "bludgeoned her to death with a hammer". But he said: "I think she disappeared to get me into trouble. I fully expected her to turn up maybe with some story about me kidnapping her or locking her up."
Mother-of-four Linda disappeared on her way to work at Swindon College in Wiltshire in March 2002 and no trace of her body has ever been found. Razzell and his wife were embroiled in divorce proceedings when she went missing. His trial was told he faced a financial settlement he was not prepared to accept.
Linda's boyfriend, Greg Worrall, contacted police on the evening of her disappearance after she failed to pick up her children from their after-school club.
Speaking during a public parole hearing streamed into the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Razell admitted his marriage had "ups and downs". But he denied allegations that he had staged a campaign of violence and coercive control over his wife.
He said the relationship had begun to break down in 1998 when the couple had undergone work on an extension at their home. But he refused to accept that he was "angered" by the breakdown of his marriage and dismissed claims it destroyed a "portrayal of a perfect life".
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Razzell - who said he suffered depression and insomnia by the divorce - claimed Linda had created a narrative of coercive control and domestic violence. He denied an allegation that he had slapped Linda and on another occasion he had grabbed her by the hair and kicked her on the floor, fracturing a rib. He said: "It's not true."
On one occasion Razzell claimed Linda "threw herself through a glass panel" but he fled because he feared he would be "beaten up". But Razzell added: "Linda manipulated people. I know you will say that's victim blaming but it's the truth. I was there, I was part of it, I know what was going on. I had no idea it would come back to haunt me 23 years later."
Razzell revealed he was working as a minibus driver after being transferred to an open prison, ferrying convicts to work placements and hospital appointments. He also said if he were released he would not strike up a new romance. He said: "I'm not going to have an intimate relationship. I don't feel I need one. I've been on my own for 15 years."
He also said he had enlisted miscarriage of justice campaigners and his case featured in BBC2 show Conviction, Murder in Suburbia.
Razzell said he had taken part in the programme because there was "speculation" that serial killer Christopher Halliwell - serving a whole life term murder of Becky Godden-Edwards, 20, in January 2003 and Sian O’Callaghan, 22, in 2011 - may have snatched other women in Swindon.
Razzell's prison offender manager - who was not named - said Razzell believed he was innocent "in his mind". The killer's community offender manager said he could be managed in the community in approved premises with a curfew and licence conditions. He has been in an open prison for six years. A decision will be made on his release within 14 days.
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