The detective who caught Russell Causley warns the freed wife killer is still a psychopath.
Causley, 79, has been let out after two decades behind bars for murder following the first televised parole hearing.
He was released even though the body of victim Carole Packman, 40, has never been found.
Retired Detective Superintendent Anthony Nott said: “He’s a psychopath. Some killers can’t reform. He’s a constant liar and he’s incapable of feeling empathy.”
Causley killed Carole in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 1985. He was finally brought to justice 11 years later.
The ex-aircraft engineer has always refused to disclose the location of his wife’s remains.
Mr Nott said he believes Causley’s claim that he strangled Carole at their detached seaside home then burnt her body in a bonfire.
Their daughter Samantha Gillingham will never forgive her father but wants to quiz him.
She said: “I desperately want to speak to him. I want to sit opposite him – father to daughter.
“I want to be able to put together some of the bits of the picture of why he did what he did. I don’t understand why he can’t get some balls and meet me face-to-face.
“Would I get anything out of the meeting? I don’t know. I’ll never forgive him and I’ll never forget.”
She criticised the Parole Board for deciding to release Causley given that her mother’s remains have never been found.
Helen’s Law, in force in January 2021, means criminals refusing to disclose the location of their victims cannot be freed from jail.
Samantha said: “The law is a joke, it hasn’t done anything for us.”
The Parole Board ruled that Helen’s Law did not apply as Causley is a recalled prisoner, having been released from jail in 2020 before breaching his parole.
Causley is expected to be housed in temporary accommodation in the south of England. His licence conditions include wearing a GPS tag and adhering to a curfew.
The Parole Board ruled that he posed a low risk of harm to the public and could therefore be released.
In 1996 Causley received a whole-life sentence for murder – more than a decade after Carole was reported missing.
He was initially arrested in an insurance fraud probe but allegedly admitted to his prison cellmates while on remand that he had murdered his wife.
His 1996 conviction was overturned in 2003 but Causley was convicted again of his wife’s murder a year later.
