The family of murdered Lee Jobling is demanding answers after his killer escaped prison for the second time and made his way to the North East.
Convicted murderer Lee Nevins, from Gateshead, was caught by police in Washington on Saturday, October 8 after almost two weeks on the run from open prison, HMP Sudbury, in Derbyshire. The killer was jailed for life for murdering disabled Lee at his Gateshead home in an unprovoked attack in 2006.
Lee, who was just 20 when he was murdered, was raised by his auntie Angela Knotts following the death of his mum. The family said they have spent days in fear since hearing from police that Nevins was on the run for a second time since his first escape in 2008.
READ MORE: Gateshead murderer Lee Nevins caught in North East after Derbyshire prison escape
Angela, 63, has told ChronicleLive of her "relief" after hearing Nevins has been caught but demanded answers as to why he is in an open prison.
"I am pleased that he is now off the streets but the family is going to take it further to try and find out exactly why he was put in an open prison when they know he is an absconder and a murderer," Angela said.
"I think we just need some answers as to what's happened. It is frightening."
Nevins was convicted of murder along with accomplice Mark Lang and jailed for life.
On Saturday, April 8, 2006, Lee invited friends to his flat for some drinks, but word of the gathering got out at the local pub, and after closing time Nevins, then 23, and Lang, 24, made their way to his home.
High on drink and drugs, the pair, who did not even know Lee, did not leave with the other guests, but stayed at the flat, where they launched their prolonged attack in the early hours. Lee died in hospital around three weeks later.
They pleaded not guilty but were convicted following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Nevins, who had previous convictions for violence, was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in prison and Lang was sentenced to serve at least 16 years.
But, in 2008, a huge manhunt was launched for Nevins after he got away after being taken from Frankland Prison to Sunderland Royal Hospital after suffering a hand injury. He was on the run for six days before Northumbria and Central Scotland police caught him at an address in Tillicoultry, near Stirling, Scotland.
Angela said she does not believe her nephew's killer has any remorse for what he has done.
"I don't think he has got any remorse or any feelings," she said.
"He will do what he wants to do. As a family, we need to know that this is not going to happen again. We need some answers."
The Prison Service said that Nevins now faces an "uphill struggle" to prove he can be trusted to be in an open prison again. The Ministry of Justice said that it "does not hesitate" to move prisoners back to tougher, closed jails if they breach the rules of open prisons and confirmed that if an offender fails in an open prison, they are excluded from returning to an open prison for at least two years.
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Lee Nevins is now in now in police custody and will face an uphill struggle proving he can ever be trusted to move to an open prison again. Protecting the public is our priority and we recently introduced tougher tests that most dangerous criminals must pass before they can move into open prisons.”
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