Shauna Hoare released after 8 years in jail for killing schoolgirl Becky Watts

02 September 2023 , 02:34

1200     0

Shauna Hoare (pictured) was released on licence after serving half of her 17-year sentence (Image: SWNS.com)

A woman who helped her boyfriend to murder his stepsister is no longer behind bars, it has been revealed.

Shauna Hoare was released on licence after serving half of her 17-year sentence for her part in the barbaric murder of Becky Watts. The 16-year-old was killed in a sexually motivated kidnap plot in 2015, in a crime which shocked the nation.

Hoare's then boyfriend, Nathan Matthews, suffocated Becky before the pair engaged in a macabre plot to cover it up by chopping up Becky's body with a circular saw in their bathtub, and stashing her body parts in suitcases. Her remains were found 12 days later, bringing a huge missing person search which involved hundreds in the community to an end.

At the time, Hoare had just turned 21, and later spent seven months in custody on remand awaiting her trial, which counts as part of her sentence. Taking that into account, she has now spent eight-and-a-half years spent in custody, and was released today.

Becky's mother, Tanya Watts, says she has been dreading the day of her release, and says she is angry but feels helpless knowing that the woman convicted of being involved in the death of her daughter was out of prison.

Abandoned prison which caged dangerous cartel killers found by urban explorer

Becky Watts, 16, was tragically found dead in Bristol (PA)

Her disappearance had sparked a massive 12-day search (SWNS.com)

Ms Watts, who was informed of the release earlier today after being given prior notice that it was imminent, told Bristol Live: "I don’t want her to feel like she’s free to walk down the street without a care in the world, after what she did. I think she’s cold and evil. The worst thing for me is that Becky trusted her and what eats away at me is when I remember all those times when I would ring Becky and Shauna would answer and she was so sweet and for a few seconds sometimes I would mistake her for Becky.

"Becky liked her and trusted her and she betrayed Becky’s trust, and it is hard when I think of how she smiled at the camera in the police station when she was arrested. She’s not even 30, she’s got her whole life ahead of her and she’s got a future, whereas when we go to talk to our daughter, we’re talking to the ground."

It is understood that part of the conditions of Hoare’s release is that she is not allowed to return to Bristol, but Home Office officials gave no details of the arrangements for her release into the community. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: "We know this will be an incredibly difficult time for Becky Watt’s loved ones and our heartfelt thoughts remain with them.

A police handout photo of Nathan Matthews and Hoare issued in 2015 (PA)

"Offenders like Shauna Hoare face some of the strictest licence conditions and can be put back behind bars if they break the rules at any point. We’ve also since changed the law so the most heinous offenders face longer than ever in prison."

During her trial Bristol Crown Court in 2015, Hoare denied all knowledge that her then boyfriend had murdered his stepsister while she was in Becky's family home in St George, loaded her body into the back of their car, driven it to their flat in Barton Hill and, over the course of the next few days, dismembered it.

Hoare during police interviews following Becky's death (Investigation Discovery)

But a jury heard that the couple went on shopping sprees over the following few days buying cling film, goggles and masks – all items used in the "meticulous" process of packing up her body parts. Hoare searched "do you want to hide a body" on YouTube the day after Becky was killed, but said it had been a parody of the Disney film, Frozen. When police searched the couple's home, they discovered a cluttered house although a clean bathroom, with no traces of Becky's DNA or blood.

She was convicted of manslaughter, and later lost an appeal against her conviction and the length of her sentence. During her time in prison, Hoare has been the subject of several newspaper reports.

In 2016, the Mirror reported that Hoare had told friends that she was still adamant she knew nothing about Becky’s murder. Around the same time, it was also reported that she had been so badly beaten in prison that she had to be resuscitated twice, and was "having a terrible time".

Tristan Cork