Sister of Gemma Simpson fears killer Martin Bell could kill again if freed

Left · 2Naomi Carrick, the sister of Gemma Simpson, has said she fears Martin Bell will "kill again" if he is released from jail. 1 2 Left · 2Bell, 57, is due to learn this week whether he can leave jail, after about 12 years behind bars for killing Ms Simpson, who was 23. 2 1 Left · 1Ms Carrick, who lives in Otley, West Yorkshire, said: "I honestly believe it could happen again." She said it terrified her to think of how many such people were "walking around in society" just to free up prison places. 1

Left · 2Bell attacked Ms Simpson, from Leeds, at his flat in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, in May 2000, shortly after being released from a psychiatric hospital. Leeds Crown Court heard the two had known each other for five years and were smoking cannabis when Bell told her "God wants me to kill you". 1 2 Left · 1He struck her with a hammer and stabbed her in the back and the back of the head. Realising she was still alive, he dragged her into the bathroom and left her face-down in the bath for several days. 2 Left · 2He then dismembered her body and buried the remains at Brimham Rocks, a National Trust beauty spot near Pateley Bridge. Ms Simpson was treated as a missing person for the next 14 years while Bell stayed silent, moved to Scarborough and worked as a taxi driver. 2 1

Left · 2In July 2014 Bell walked into a police station in Scarborough, confessed and told officers where he had buried her. A psychiatric assessment diagnosed a psychotic mental illness, and he admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 2 1 Left · 1He was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014 with a minimum term of 12 years, reduced to 11 years and 205 days to account for time already spent in custody. 2 Left · 2The Parole Board recommended in 2025 that Bell be moved from a closed jail into open conditions. Ms Carrick wrote what she called a "pleading letter" to Shabana Mahmood, then Justice Secretary, urging her to block the move. According to the Mirror, the move was initially rejected before Bell successfully challenged that decision. 2 1

Left · 2Ms Carrick said the family had been "failed from the very beginning" and that, once Bell was charged with manslaughter rather than murder, they knew he would not serve significant time. She said he had "done the bare minimum" and that the outcome offered "no justice". 1 2 Left · 2She said the family had been left in the dark about Bell's current mental state, his progress, and what had led to him being considered safe for release. She was warned he could be allowed day release once in open conditions, and fears encountering him as she lives about 10 miles from Harrogate. 1 2 Left · 2The Parole Board said its decisions focus on whether a prisoner would pose a risk to the public if released and whether that risk could be managed in the community. Its panel considers the original offence, the prisoner's conduct, reports from probation, prison staff, psychiatrists and psychologists, and victim personal statements. 2 1

Left · 2Ms Carrick was 26 when her sister disappeared. Ms Simpson would have turned 50 this year, and her sister described her as loving, kind and "the cheeky one with the big personality". 1 2