Paedophile who killed mum and toddler to keep his twisted secret is denied parole

A paedophile who murdered a mum by stabbing her repeatedly with a pair of scissors after she discovered he was sexually abusing her daughter has been denied parole.

Thomas Park, now 49, received a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years after he stabbed Sharon Lester, 22, more than 100 times with a pair of scissors at her home on Ling Street, Kensington, in December 1998. Detectives believed Ms Lester discovered Park had sexually abused her two-year-old daughter, Jade, and the twisted pervert attacked her to "conceal his paedophilia".

Park, formerly of Jubilee Drive in Kensington, then beat defenceless toddler Jade to death before dumping her body on a patch of wasteland, wrapped in a bin bag, where she lay undiscovered for a week. Ms Lester's mum, Dot, eventually discovered the crime scene and Park was found drunk in a nearby pub.

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Park denied killing Jade, claiming he "would never dream" of hurting her, and admitted Ms Park's manslaughter "on the grounds of provocation". However, he was convicted of both murders, plus one count of indecent assault against Jade, after a six day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Park appeared before the Parole Board for a second time on May 1 to determine whether he could be safely released on licence now his minimum tariff has expired. However, the Parole Board panel was not satisfied Park's release would be safe for the protection of the public, nor did they believe he should be transferred to open prison.

Park was initially due to appear before the Parole Board in a rare public hearing following pressure from Ms Lester's family. Open hearings have only been a possibility since the law was changed in 2018, due to outrage over a decision to grant parole to black-cab rapist Jon Worboys - a move that was blocked on appeal.

Despite Park initially trying to block the application, the Parole Board concluded the test for a public hearing was met due to the public interest, which would have allowed the ECHO to attend. However, days before the hearing was due to take place, Park's legal representatives requested the review take place on the papers instead, meaning the ECHO has to rely on a summary of the parole board's findings.

The Parole Board said: "The panel was able to identify a number of risk factors -things that made it more likely that Mr Park would offend - which had existed at the time of his offending. These included his inability to manage his emotions and his reactions to conflict, his capacity for extreme violence, his sense of entitlement, his poor coping skills, and his abuse of both drugs and alcohol.

"The panel also had evidence that Mr Park had problems with relationships, wanted to gain power and control over others, he considered sexual abuse to be acceptable and had been sexually preoccupied. Evidence was presented at the hearing regarding Mr Park’s progress and custodial conduct during this sentence. Reports indicated that his behaviour had been generally good.

"There had been no evidence of substance abuse for many years and he had a trusted prison job. Mr Park had completed some intensive therapeutic and offending behaviour work undertaken over a number of years, including accredited programmes. This work had focused on some of the complex factors which had contributed to his offending including his attitude to sex and behaviour in relationships, his thinking and decision-making skills, and management of anger and emotions."

The panel accepted Park's apparent "willingness to engage in programmes to address his offending, his good working relationships with professional staff and some good support in the community". However, the panel, after hearing the extensive victim personal statements which conveyed the impact of his crimes and the long-term consequences of his offending, determined Park is still not safe to walk the streets.

Park was 25 at the time of the murders and was an unemployed joiner. A jury of four men and eight women took just one hour to find him guilty of all charges, with three women sobbing as the verdicts were delivered. Park tried to unsuccessfully reduce his prison term to 19 years on appeal.

Ms Lester's family have repeatedly fought against Park's release from prison. Ms Lester's brother Carl previously told the ECHO: "If anyone could do anything to stop him coming out and stop another child being hurt, that's all we want to do. My sister and my niece are gone and all we can do is stop this happening again."

Describing his sister, Robert Lester also told the ECHO in 2021: "Sharon was a very quiet woman - she was more of an introvert. She was never the centre of attention. She was always the quiet one, in the background. She was never in trouble with the police. She was just a really good, decent and genuine girl. We are a quiet family."

Park will be eligible for another parole review in due course.

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