Airgun child killer Mark Bonini will plead to be released from jail at a hearing next week, just three days before what should have been his tiny victim’s 20th birthday.
Andrew Morton was only two when Bonini shot him through the head with an airgun he had modified to give it greater power.
Bonini, 44, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years but has now served more than 17 years.
Andrew’s parents, Sharon McMillan and Andy Morton, 47, say he should be locked up for many more years.
Speaking to the Daily Record, they revealed their fears he will be freed to live round the corner from their home.
Sharon said: “He murdered a child, little more than a baby. He should have got at least 25 years and should have had to show remorse before getting out.”
The couple have six children, most still at home, and they are desperate for the Parole Board for Scotland to use new powers to prevent Bonini from moving back to Garthamlock, Glasgow, where they live, when he is freed.
Andy said: “I’m really worried about getting into trouble if I see him in the street, at the bus stop, or at the shops.
“How is a father supposed to react when he sees the guy that murdered his baby and why should we have that to deal with?
“We can’t be expected to have him back in our community. I don’t want to see him and I don’t want Sharon or the kids to have to see him.”
The timing of Bonini’s latest freedom bid is especially difficult for the family as his hearing, on May 6, is just three days before Andrew’s 20th birthday.
The family are frequent visitors to his grave and they will be going to visit on the day.
“We talk to him, tell him we miss him,” said Andy.
“He should be about to leave his teens behind, and we should be buying him a pint to celebrate.
“We don’t want to be telling him the monster that killed him has done his time now and is free to get on with his life when Andrew never had his.
"Andrew never got to grow up, go to school, have a job, fall in love – whatever price Bonini thinks he’s paid it’s not enough.”
Under new rules governing parole hearings, Sharon and Andy were asked if they wanted to attend but they would have had no right to speak and would have had to sign a confidentiality clause to keep all they heard private.
They decided to refuse the offer. Andy added: “Why would we want to be in the same room as him? Even after all these years, the grief is still raw and always will be.”
They’ve written to the board, explaining the crime still affects them. They stress they do not believe Bonini – who they say has never expressed remorse – should be released at all.
The letter says: “Andrew might have a partner, a job, he might be studying for qualifications. He might have had children one day.
"We miss him every minute of every day and that will never change.
“Time doesn’t heal the wounds caused by murder. We just have to live with them.
“Every happy family occasion – Christmas, birthdays, weddings – is less than it should be because all of us have to try to get through these occasions with our hearts breaking because one of us isn’t there and never will be.
“Instead of celebrating Andrew’s birthdays, we visit his grave. We talk to Andrew there. All the children do, even Mercedes and Tulisa who were born after he died and Calvin, who was seven months.
“They all tell him they love him and miss him, and while we are a close and loving family, we shouldn’t have had to deal with the torment caused by Bonini.”
The letter adds Andrew was shot dead while he was on brother Brian’s shoulders, and Brian has never got over it.
It adds his sisters Sammy, who saw the shooting aged 10, and Cheryl adored Andrew too.
Despite the fact they knew Bonini, he never tried to apologise, and they never heard of him showing remorse, the letter says.
They say this and his drug-taking in jail, which scuppered an earlier bid for freedom, show he remains a danger.
Sharon said last night: “When your child dies before you, especially when the death is so violent and senseless, you don’t heal. You serve the life sentence.”
Andy added: “Prison is the best place for guys like him. He’s a child killer and will never be welcome around here.”
Bonini was jailed for life in August 2005 for murdering Andrew in March of that year.
Sharon and Andy fought for a ban on air weapons, with Parliament finally passing laws in 2017 requiring them to be licensed.
Tory justice spokesman Jamie Greene last night, said: “It’s right victims and their families should be able to request an exclusion zone to stop them coming into contact with criminals after their release.”
The Scottish Government said: “We’ve amended the rules to allow the Parole Board to take account of the safety of victims and their families when considering release.”
The Parole board doesn’t comment on individual cases.
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