Michael Sams was given four life sentences in 1993 (Image: PA Images)
An 84-year-old killer with one leg is making his fourth bid for freedom after 33 years behind bars. Michael Sams kidnapped and murdered Julie Dart before going on to abduct Stephanie Slater.
He was given four life sentences in 1993 for the kidnap and killing of 18-year-old Miss Dart and the abduction of Miss Slater, a Birmingham estate agent. Sams, who is originally from Keighley, West Yorkshire, has been referred to the Parole Board and if his bid for freedom is approved he could potentially be back on Britain’s streets later this year.
Sams kidnapped and murdered Julie Dart (left) and abducted Stephanie Slater (Image: PA Images)
The killer has made a number of unsuccessful parole reviews since he was locked up. A bid in 2023 was turned down as the authorities deemed him too dangerous to be released.
Miss Dart was snatched by Sams in Leeds in 1991. She was held prisoner in a makeshift coffin in his workshop in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
He demanded £140,000 from her family as ransom, but went on to murder her with a hammer before dumping her body on farmland near Grantham, Lincolnshire.
Sams then kidnapped Miss Slater from Great Barr, Birmingham. He handcuffed, gagged, blindfolded and hid the then 25-year-old inside a box locked in a wheelie bin.
She was found alive after a £175,000 ransom was paid. Miss Slater went on to help kidnap victims, working with police forces before she died of cancer in 2017.
Sams was ordered to spend at least 25 years in prison (Image: PA Images)
Killer Sams denied murdering Miss Dart, but admitted kidnapping Miss Slater. He was convicted and ordered to spend at least 25 years in prison.
He was caught after his third wife recognised his voice from a recording which was played on the BBC‘s Crimewatch programme.
In 2005, Sams was sentenced to an extra eight years after he attacked a probation officer with a metal spike.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said 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.
They added, The Sun reported: “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.”
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The spokesperson said Parole Board members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.
This includes evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists and officials supervising the offender in prison. Victim personal statements may also be given at the hearing.
The spokesperson told ITV News: “It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.
“Parole reviews are always undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
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