Killer uncle who groomed then murdered his schoolgirl niece, 15, makes bid for freedom regardless of by no means revealing the place he dumped her physique

The killer uncle of schoolgirl Danielle Jones has made a second bid for his release despite refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the 15-year-old’s body more than two decades on. 

Stuart Campbell, now 66, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Danielle Jones, who was last seen near her home in East Tilbury, Essex, on 18 June, 2001 while walking to a bus stop. 

But he has now made a fresh application to the Parole Board, which confirmed on Wednesday that it is reviewing his case, The Mirror reports.

Danielle’s heartbroken mother, Linda, 64, has previously requested that he remains in jail until he reveals what happened to the teenager.

His latest referral for parole comes two years after Campbell’s parole appeal was rejected at the first stage under a Member Case Assessment, whereby the Parole Board considers written evidence. 

The panel decided in 2022 that after assessing Campbell’s file, he didn’t reach the threshold for a full parole hearing and was still too dangerous to be released. 

Linda said before that hearing: ‘It’s important I tell him face-to-face how this has impacted on me and I will be reading my statement out myself. 

‘Whether I look at him, I couldn’t tell you, but he needs to be in that room listening to what he has done to the family.’

His brother Alix Shakey, also 66, who wrote a book about his brother’s crimes in 2022, spoke of his ‘profound scorn’ for Campbell. 

Shakey said he was ‘furious’ with his brother for not telling Danielle’s parents where her body is.

In an interview with The Sunday Times previously he said: ‘I hope [my book] will shift something in him, to make him understand that you cannot pretend to anyone, including yourself, that this is over, that you can start again,’ he told the publication. 

‘You can’t do that. I won’t let you. You have to tell these people what you did with that girl’s body. 

‘I was so angry with him, because I could see what he was trying to do,’ Sharkey said. 

‘I realised with Ian Simms that with the way the law stands you can leave prison without confessing your crime, without expressing remorse for what you did — you can still get out of prison. Then I was furious. I was furious with myself for being complacent about the whole thing, and furious with him.’ 

He added that he believes his brother feels shame for what he did, demonstrable by the fact Campbell has never replied to any of his letters. 

‘A response means a conversation, a conversation means being confronted with his crime. I guess he can’t handle that,’ Sharkey said.

He said in a previous interview: ‘Stop being a monster, why don’t you act like a human being? Even murderers can say “I’m sorry”.’

While Danielle’s body has never been recovered, police discovered a pair of white stockings with the schoolgirl’s DNA on them in Campbell’s home, as well as a lip gloss used by her, leading to his arrest. He was subsequently found guilty.

Campbell was found to have lured her into his blue transit van to abduct her. In December 2002 Campbell was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and ten years for abduction, with the two to run concurrently. 

The High Court ruled that Campbell should not be considered for parole until he had served a minimum of 20 years. 

A Parole Board spokesperson said of his previous application: ‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 

‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. 

‘Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.’ 

Despite appeal’s by Danielle’s family and Campbell’s brother Alix Sharkey to the ex-builder to reveal where he hid the body, Campbell has refused to disclose any information. 

As a result, the case was one of the first to be assessed under Helen’s Law which legally requires the Parole Board to consider whether a prisoner has admitted guilt or expressed remorse. 

This makes it harder for killers like Campbell to be released if they refuse to give up details on where they hid the victim’s body and give full disclosure of their crimes.

Helen’s Law is named after Helen McCourt, a 22-year-old insurance clerk who was murdered in 1988. Her killer, Ian Simms, has never revealed the location of her body. In his trial for Danielle Jones’ murder, it was revealed that Campbell faked texts from the teenager to himself to make it seem like she was still alive. 

On the 20th anniversary of the schoolgirl’s death, Danielle’s family appealed to Campbell to reveal where he hid her body. 

Her mother Linda said she hoped Campbell would ‘do the right thing and allow us to lay our darling daughter to rest’. 

Danielle left her home in East Tilbury, Essex in June 2001 to catch a bus to St Clere’s School in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex – and her parents never saw her again. 

Campbell, a father-of-two and body-builder, denied any involvement in his niece’s disappearance, but the prosecution produced evidence that he had developed an ‘irresistible sexual attraction’ for her. 

He regularly picked her up from the school bus stop in his van, sent her ‘an inordinate amount of text messages’ and kept a diary chronicling his contact with her.