Harrogate killer loses parole bid - but sister fears it won’t end there

‘The worry isn't over. I think it's going to be short-lived.’

The sister of a woman stabbed to death in a Harrogate flat by a taxi driver who hid her dismembered remains at Brimham Rocks has spoken of her relief that he has lost his bid to be freed from jail.

But Naomi Carrack fears the good news will be short-lived after “monster” Martin Bell, 57, successfully challenged a previous decision blocking his move to an open prison.

Naomi, 53, heard the news that a Parole Board had turned down Bell's bid to be released on Monday (October 5).

Now she fears he will attempt to overturn the ruling.

Bell had sought parole after serving 12 years for the brutal killing of Naomi's 23-year-old sister Gemma Simpson.

Naomi, from Otley, said: "It's good news for now, because he is where he should be.

"But the worry isn't over. I think it's going to be short-lived."

Bell attacked Gemma at his flat in Harrogate in May 2000 after being released from a psychiatric hospital.

He struck her with a hammer before stabbing her in the back and the back of the head.

After realising Gemma was still alive, Bell dragged her into the bathroom and left her lying face-down in the bath for several days.

He dismembered her body and buried her remains at Brimham Rocks, near Pateley Bridge.

Naomi wrote what she described as a "pleading letter" to Shabana Mahmood, who was then Justice Secretary, urging her to prevent the transfer.

Bell kept silent as Gemma, from Leeds, was treated as a missing person for the next 14 years.

He moved to Scarborough and worked as a taxi driver, leading what Naomi described as a completely ordinary life after the killing.

In July 2014, Bell walked into a police station in Scarborough, confessed to killing Gemma and told officers where he had buried her.

A psychiatric assessment following his arrest diagnosed him with a psychotic mental illness.

Leeds Crown Court heard Bell had told Gemma that God wanted him to kill her.

Naomi expects Bell to appeal after he previously overturned a decision blocking his transfer to an open prison.

The family still does not know why his release was refused, despite Naomi asking officials for an explanation.

She said: "I'm expecting him to get it overturned because every time he has always had it the way he wants.

"I'm obviously glad, but I have no doubt he will appeal it."

Naomi was on holiday in Benidorm with her husband when she received the news that Bell's bid had been denied.

She said: "I asked why - but, as ever, they didn't tell me on the phone.

"The Parole Board says they are going to forward me some details about why it was denied."

Bell admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014.

He received a minimum term of 12 years, reduced to 11 years and 205 days to account for time already spent in custody.

The Parole Board recommended in 2025 that Bell be transferred from a closed jail into open conditions ahead of becoming eligible for release.

Naomi wrote what she called a "pleading letter" to Shabana Mahmood, then Justice Secretary, urging her to stop the move.

The transfer was initially blocked, but Bell challenged that decision successfully and entered open conditions after it was overturned last December.

That experience has left Naomi unable to trust that the latest refusal will stand.

Before the decision, she warned that she believed Bell could kill again if released.

She said: "He is capable of stabbing, hammering and dismembering someone - and then moving on with his life for 14 years.

"I honestly believe it could happen again."

Gemma would have celebrated her 50th birthday this year.

Naomi said: “She was a really beautiful girl. She was so loving and kind.

“Gemma was always the cheeky one with the big personality and big brown eyes. She was very loved.

“I can’t even imagine that she’d have been 50 this year.

“Gemma never had the opportunity to fall in love. She had never even been abroad.

“It just seems unreal to think what could have been.”

A spokesperson for the Parole Board confirmed that Bell's bid had been refused, adding that the panel "examined a huge range of evidence" in making the decision.

The evidence included details of the crime, "any evidence of behaviour change" and the "impact the crime has had on the victims".

The spokesperson added: "Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course.

"The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice."