‘Monster’ butchered my son and will not reveal head location, says mum

Jean Hartley’s son Christopher was just 17 when he was lured back to a flat in Blackpool on December 30, 1997, by Stuart Diamond, who strangled and dismembered him before dumping his remains in a bin

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The mum of a murdered teenager who was horrifically dismembered and discarded in a bin is battling to keep his killer locked up as “the monster won’t reveal where my son’s head is”.

Jean Hartley’s son Christopher was only 17 when he was enticed back to a flat on December 30, 1997 by Stuart Diamond, who strangled and gruesomely dismembered him.

Christopher’s mutilated remains were discovered in a bin at the back of a hotel, which lead to Diamond’s conviction for his murder and he was subsequently detained at Ashworth High Security Hospital in Maghull under the Mental Health Act.

However, nearly three decades later, Diamond, who faced the Parole Board in January, could be reintroduced into society if a review panel deems it safe to do so.

Ms Hartley, 73, from Kirkby, told the Liverpool ECHO : “I’m fighting to keep him behind bars. I want to get my own back on this monster. He has done 28 years because I’m fighting to keep him there.”

The devastated yet resolute mother, who testified at Diamond’s private parole hearing, insists that the murderer is not suitable for release due to his refusal to disclose a harrowing piece of evidence – the location of Christopher’s severed head.

Ms Hartley expressed: “The unimaginable suffering this has had on me and my family. I find it hard to put into words. I still to this day have nightmares – it has destroyed my whole family.”

The mother alleged that Diamond had given conflicting accounts, sometimes claiming he had thrown the head into the Irish Sea, while at other times denying it. She also claimed that following his arrest, Diamond had drawn a stick figure with a decapitated head.

Ms Hartley stated: “I hate Diamond. I can’t forgive him for putting my family through hell.”

Christopher was raised in the family home in Burnley before relocating to Blackpool to seek employment at the town’s Pleasure Beach. He had family in Blackpool and had been residing with his sister Michelle, but due to issues with her landlord, he was informed he could no longer stay.

On the day of his murder, Christopher left his sister’s residence and encountered Diamond, who had relocated to Blackpool from his native Ireland. The 1999 trial heard how Diamond had strangled and suffocated Christopher before dismembering his body into three parts in the communal bathroom of the flats.

Detectives discovered blood stains and tissue in the flat, as well as Diamond’s fingerprint in Christopher’s blood on a stool leg. The jury dismissed his assertions that drug dealers committed the murder in an attempt to frame him.

Following the murder, Diamond fled back to Ireland and was subsequently extradited for trial.

It subsequently emerged that Diamond had two prior convictions for violent offences, including an 18-month stint in a young offenders’ institution after he slashed a man across the face with a blade. A psychiatric assessment from an earlier conviction revealed Diamond harboured fantasies about committing murder.

He had been released on licence just weeks before he killed Christopher. During sentencing, a judge warned him: “It is clear you are a very dangerous young man. The most anxious consideration will be given as to whether it will ever be safe to release you.”

Ms Hartley informed the ECHO that Diamond’s absence of remorse and agonising refusal to admit his guilt mean he should remain behind bars. She added that if he were ever freed, she would live in constant terror of encountering her son’s murderer.

She explained: “I have an injunction for him to keep away from Christopher’s grave. He can’t come near me. I have a marker on my property.

“I have asked for a picture of him so I know what he looks like…I am on tablets and have to go to the hospital to get x-rays on my chest. I just want to keep him inside.”

The prospect of Diamond’s potential freedom has created devastating consequences throughout Christopher’s extended family. Ms Hartley revealed that two of her daughters couldn’t bear the trauma, and they have also passed away.

Her daughter Julie died on Christopher’s birthday, while Michelle died on the anniversary of his death just two years ago. Christopher’s cousin, Zara Stothard, told the ECHO: “I feel angry. I can’t stand him. I hate his guts. I’m frustrated about what he has done to my cousin.

“He won’t reveal where he put Christopher’s head. That is what we are trying to say. If he doesn’t disclose what he has done, then why is it right to consider releasing him?”.

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