Notorious kidnapper and killer Michael Sams denied release from prison after refusing to appear before parole board
Notorious kidnapper and killer Michael Sams has been denied release from prison after he arrogantly refused to appear before a parole board panel.
One-legged Sams was given four life sentences in 1993 for murdering Leeds teenager Julie Dart, 18, and later kidnapping Stephanie Slater, 25, who he kept locked in a ‘coffin’ for eight days.
Sams, now 83, completed his minimum 25 year jail term six years ago and had told fellow prisoners he was confident he would soon be free.
But his refusal to attend this months’ hearing in person has apparently cost him his freedom.
Sams was told he would stay in jail for the protection of the public after turning down advice to get legal representation and to personally give evidence to a three-person board.
Instead, he attempted to rely on a report by his probation officer along with testimony from prison officers and a psychologist employed by the prison service.
It is highly unusual for a high-profile parole case to be decided on just the documentation and the decision not to release Sams - or move him to a Category D open prison - is significant.
The decision highlights the fact that Sams is still considered a danger to society.
Killer Michael Sams received multiple life sentences in 1993 for murdering Leeds teenager Julie Dart, 18, and later kidnapping Stephanie Slater, 25, who he kept locked in a ‘coffin’ for eight days
Sams abducted and killed Julie Dart (pictured) in Leeds on July 9, 1991, after luring her into his car in the city’s red-light district
Estate agent Stephanie Slater was kidnapped at knifepoint while Sams posed as a house buyer in Birmingham
Sams became internationally notorious for his crimes in the early nineties.
The murder of Julie Dart in 1991 and the hunt for Stephanie in 1992 chilled the nation and Sams became Britain’s most wanted man.
He was only caught after his ex-wife heard and recognised his voice on the BBC1 Crimewatch programme.
The former lift engineer kidnapped Julie, in Leeds in 1991.
He took her to his workshop in Newark, Notts, where he kept her in a makeshift coffin.
She broke out of the box but was trapped in the workshop and Sams bludgeoned her to death.
In January 1992, he lured estate agent Stephanie to a rundown semi-detached house.
Stephanie was released after a £175,000 ransom was paid by her employer.
Sams was caught the following month when his third wife recognised his voice from a clip played on Crimewatch.
Sams was convicted in July 1993 and sentenced to life in prison
Stephanie was released after a £175,000 ransom was paid by her employer.
Stephanie died of cancer aged 50 in 2017.
And Sams’ case was in the public eye again just last month when the detective who finally caught him, Bob Taylor, died of cancer at the end of December.
This month’s hearing was the latest in a succession of failed bids for freedom.
In 2023, Sams, then 81, from Sutton-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, did attend a full-appeal hearing but did not give evidence in person.
A release plan was not considered robust enough.
His most recent hearing should have gone ahead in June 2024, but Sams refused to cooperate. The ‘paper review’ was issued by the Parole Board on 14 November 2024.
It wrote: ‘Mr Sams made clear that he would not attend a hearing and preferred his review to be completed on the basis of documentation alone. He was not legally represented.’
‘This was Mr Sams’ fifth review by the Parole Board following the end of the initial minimum period (set by the court at twenty-five years) which had expired in February 2017,' it added.
‘The Parole Board’s regular reviews have meant that Mr Sams has so far spent more than an additional seven years in prison for the protection of the public.’
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ’We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Michael Sams following a paper review. The panel also refused to recommend a move to open prison.’
