The family of murdered teenager Michelle Stewart have “absolutely no doubt” that her killer would reoffend if he is released following a parole board hearing this week.
John Wilson was given a life sentence in 2008 after he ambushed his ex-girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle, and stabbed her to death.
On Thursday, September 26, the Parole Board will decide whether or not he will remain behind bars.
Lisa Stewart, Michelle’s sister, has again called on the parole board to deny Wilson’s request for parole nine months after his last hearing.
Speaking to Ayrshire Live, Lisa said: “We are at the 16th year of his sentence which was the original punishment part of his life sentence. Again, we would like to see him getting refused parole especially given the last report we received from the parole board.
“We get a brief summary of the hearing, something which was brought in from our Michelle’s Law campaign, and on that, first and foremost, was that he is not showing any remorse for what he did to Michelle. That is a big concern in itself.
“To us, that highlights that he would do it again. We have absolutely no doubt that he would do that again to another woman. If someone has no remorse for what they have done, they have not seen any wrong in what they’ve done. Has he been rehabilitated in any way?
“We are fighting for what we would like to see and we have put that to the parole board. We don’t have much hope that he would abide by licence conditions, because he will have licence conditions, if he is released.”
Michelle was minutes away from her home in Drongan when ex-boyfriend Wilson, who was 20 at the time, ambushed her and carried out his brutal attack – stabbing her 10 times with a 10-inch blade – in front of her friends.
Michelle’s brother Kenny jnr, a nurse, performed CPR on her at the scene in a desperate attempt to save his sister.
Wilson went on the run and was caught just hours later. He pleaded guilty to the murder in March 2009 and was sentenced to serve 12 years minimum jail time, discounted from 16 years due to his guilty plea.
For the family, 16 years may have passed but Michelle is still a big part of their lives.
Lisa said: “The feeling definitely doesn’t go away. It doesn’t feel like 16 years for us, it is still very raw and very much at the forefront of our minds. Through daily life, there are always wee things that trigger those thoughts again.
“Certainly, when the parole hearings come up as well, it brings it all back. It makes us very anxious at the thought of him getting out and being able to go about his normal life again.
“He could put all that in his past whereas, for us, we have lost our sister and our daughter. We can never put that to our past. She is a huge part of our family that is missing and will always be missed.”
The Stewart family have tirelessly campaigned to see Michelle’s Law introduced which would see changes to the justice system, including the setting up of ‘exclusion zones’ upon an offender’s release, prompted by Wilson being spotted in and around Ayr numerous times while on supervised leave since 2018.
They have previously shared their anguish of bumping into Wilson when working or socialising if he is released.
Lisa added: “When we think of Michelle, we think of her happy face. Michelle was always happy, she was always smiling. She saw the positive in everything.
“Michelle enjoyed life, she was a normal 17-year-old girl. She was coming up to leaving school and looking at a career. She had no definite but she had a few ideas of what she wanted to do and she was hoping to start driving lessons.
“He took all that away. Michelle went to school that day and I’m sure that, when she got up that morning, she never thought for a minute that she wouldn’t see that night. It’s just really sad that one person and their actions can take that light away from somebody.”
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