MURDERER Glyn Razzell will stay behind bars after his latest bid for freedom was turned down.

The killer, now 62, is serving a life sentence for the murder of his 41-year-old wife, mother of four Linda Razzell, and was refused release by the Parole Board in October.

He was one of the first prisoners to be considered under Helen’s Law and it was factor in the decision to keep him in jail.

Named after insurance clerk Helen McCourt, who vanished on her way home from work in 1988, the law came into force earlier this year and makes it harder for killers to get parole if they refuse to reveal where they hid their victim’s body.

Linda disappeared on the way to work at Swindon College in March 2002 and no trace of her body has ever been found.

Razzell objected to the Parole Board decision and launched an appeal asking it for it to be reviewed for a number of reasons, with his legal team claiming the panel’s consideration of Helen’s Law was “irrational.”

This is because they claim that the “application of Helen’s Law forces the authorities and treatment of prisoners who maintain their innocence into redundancy”.

Despite being convicted based on bloodstains matching Linda’s DNA being found in the boot of his car, Razzell has always maintained he was wrongfully convicted and did not kill his wife. 

This even led to a BBC Documentary on the case called Conviction, Murder In Suburbia being broadcast which he hoped would clear his name. 

Deciding judge Patrick Thomas ruled to turn down Razzell’s appeal stating that the involvement of the new law was fair

He said: “I do not consider that the decision was irrational or procedurally unfair and accordingly the application for reconsideration is refused.”

Razzell will now remain in open prison and is eligible for another parole decision in about two years’ time.

In a statement given to the Adver, Linda’s family welcomed the initial October decision to deny Razzell’s freedom. 

“The decision to deny Glyn Razzell parole is the right one, they said.

"Our lovely Linda is receiving the justice she deserves and society will be a safer place as a result of the Parole Board’s decision.”