The snug lifetime of open jail as Britain’s youngest serial killer set to be moved there

A woman who was once Britain’s youngest female double murderer will not be released from prison but could instead be moved to an open jail and now insiders have revealed how cushty her life will become.

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Britain’s youngest female double murderer who killed a woman with a cheese grater could soon be moved to an open prison where she will be given day release – and allowed out in the community.

Lorraine Thorpe, who was 15 when she brutally slayed her father and another woman in horror circumstances, could soon be moved to a “cushty jail” where there is low security, and even the chance to be gradually let loose in the local community.

Thorpe, from Ipswich, murdered her father, Desmond, and a woman called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009 and has been deemed too dangerous to be considered for parole.

Thorpe and her accomplice, 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who died in prison in 2014, repeatedly beat and tortured Rosalyn, before smothering Desmond, 43, a vulnerable alcoholic.

The two bodies were discovered at separate flats. She tortured Rosalyn, a mother-of-two, for days with a cheese grater and rubbed salt in her wounds.

Lorraine later killed her own dad when he threatened to report what she had done to the police. Heartbreakingly, a footprint of his 15-year-old daughter’s trainer was left on his head. Thorpe became Britain’s youngest convicted female double murderer.

She was convicted of the killings in 2010, and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of at least 14 years in prison but now the Parole Board have agreed she can be transferred to an open facility.

In a decision released on Tuesday, the Parole Board said Thorpe, now 31, who has spent all her adult life in prison, needed to be tested in less restrictive prison conditions before she could be considered for release.

“After considering the circumstances of her offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel agreed that Ms Thorpe should not be released,” the board said.

When Thorpe was jailed the sentencing judge, Mr Justice Saunders, said she could be “manipulative” and was not acting entirely under Clarke’s control, adding: “She found violence funny and entertaining.”

And now an insider at one of the UK’s top open prisons has lifted the lid on just what she can expect when she is moved to the easier unit.

A source said: “Forget lockdowns, and high prison walls, when they say open, they really mean open. It is cushty in here.

“She will be literally free to roam around the grounds and trusted not to escape. It will be a test, but if she is not safe for release, this is a massive.

“Let’s hope the Parole Board have really looked into this case, because they themselves deemed her dangerous. But apparently not dangerous enough to be locked up.”

They added: “Open prisons really are minimal security and prisoners are allowed to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes. They could even work in the community.

“Not only that but they can earn their own money and in some cases are even granted leave, with zero supervision.

“You’re basically trusting that person to serve the rest of their sentence on their own terms, giving them freedom and hoping for the best.

“And when a crime as violent as that has taken place, that really is a risk.”

As well as more freedom to work, there is more of a social life.

They continued: “Some open prisons have a range of social activities for people to join in on, this can include music and bands being formed, or even drama productions. Some places even have gyms. They’re designed to be a release from prison and preparing you for the real world.”

And open prison also means the chance of Release on Temporary Licence.

“Eligibility starts after your initial ‘lay down’ period, usually a few months, when you are monitored.

“Your first day of ROTL to the local town is likely to be escorted by an officer in plain clothes and after that it can become a regular event – up to three times a month.

“After that comes the chance of overnight leaves – eventually up to as many as four nights every 30 days – when you can either go home to stay with their family or go to an approved premises locally.

“She may not be safe enough to release yet, but this is a pretty close version.”