Monday, September 17, 2007

Your Early Release Murderer Tonight - Stephen Browning

Stephen Browning, who had just been released from prison, left Susan Grundy, 51, for dead just yards from her home as she walked home from an evening out with friends. Browning, 31, who had taken a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol, punched, kicked and stamped on the former Bradford College lecturer more than 20 times when she wouldn't give him a cigarette. Mrs Grundy, who had moved to Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in search of "the good life" was then stripped naked, sexually assaulted and left for dead behind bushes near her home.

Browning, who was a cannabis user with a history of violence had had just been bailed by police for an assault on a police officer at the time of the sickening attack on January 23. Browning, who had a string of convictions, for assault and burglary had been jailed for four months for an assault on Wendy Cording his girlfriend in November 2006, who went into a women's refuge. He was released on January 9 this year. He went to his sisters and got drunk and was arrested by police for a breach of the peace and obstructing a police officer. He was then bailed and was free to kill Mrs Grundy.


Jailed for four months in November 2006. Released in January 2007 after half the sentence. Murdered Susan Grundy the same month. Chalk up another death to the Probation "Service".

But there's a double betrayal here. Surely obstruction and breach of the peace are breaches of his license conditions ? He should have been remanded.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you see the latest Panorama?
Panorama
Its called "Wasting Police Time".
You can view it over the net I think.
The PC blogger was on it.

Apparently and I guess this will be no supprise to you, 80% of his work was a total waste of time.

Anonymous said...

You mean 20% of it was worthwhile? That sounds like a quite rewarding job.

Anonymous said...

Some headlines and excerpts from the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald over the last five days relating to a murder in Devizes. (The comments are also worth a read, where locals are somewhat skeptical of the remaining Guadianistas.)

‘We were effective’ say stabbing investigators

Miss Cooper [a friend of the murder victim], 24, survived 28 stab wounds during an attack on her by Mark Oldfield at a camp site at High Post, near Salisbury, last September.

Oldfield, 32, was sentenced to life imprisonment but Miss Cooper received a letter this week from the Probation Service saying that he would be eligible for parole a year from now, having served a little over two years of his sentence.

Town stunned by violence

He spoke of the events of both last Thursday and Sunday. He said: "These are things we don't like happening in our little town and it is unfortunate we have had two such events so close together.

"The public needs reassuring that crime is actually coming down in the area and these kind of things are very rare."

Neighbours’ fears on church drinkers

But when a huge phallic symbol was drawn on the wall of number 2, police officers supplied drinkers in the churchyard with paint to cover over the messages.

Armed police swoop on churchyard

No explanation is given for the sudden police activity.

I can't help but feel Devizes is on a crescendo and building towards something truly spectacular.