The killer Britain cannot deport in case it breaches his right to a 'family life'

Strolling through a London suburb, the young man dressed in jeans and a brown leather jacket barely warrants a second glance from others in the street. But 13 years ago, he stabbed to death headmaster Philip Lawrence in one of the most notorious murders of recent times. This is the latest image of 28-year-old killer Learco Chindamo - prison number KA0030 - who has been freed from jail on 'temporary licence' after serving 12 years of a life sentence imposed for Mr Lawrence's murder.



Chindamo, who hopes to start a new life, was only 15 when he murdered the 48-year-old father of four outside St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale in 1995. Chindamo was waiting outside the school to fight a 13-year-old pupil, who is thought to have offended his Triad-style gang. Only last year, during an immigration tribunal hearing to decide whether he should be deported on his release, Chindamo was described as posing a 'genuine and present risk' to the public.

The tribunal ruled that Italian-born Chindamo could not be deported after being freed because this would breach his right to family life. Mr Lawrence's widow Frances said she was 'demoralised and devastated' by the decision. She commented: 'In Article 2 of the Human Rights Act my husband had the right to life. Chindamo has destroyed that right yet he has used the legal process to enable him to live as described in Article 8. 'The Act works in his best interest, it is ill-equipped to work in my family's interest or for people in my situation.'

Chindamo's life sentence 'tariff ' expired on January 5 this year but it was felt by the authorities that he should undergo a staged release - this involves periods when he is freed from open or closed prison conditions and is allowed to stay in probation hostels. This week Chindamo stayed in one such hostel in Beckenham, Kent, where he was photographed strolling down the high street and near the railway and tram stations.

One member of the public who saw him said: 'He looked very calm and assured as he visited shops and later a cafe in Beckenham. 'When he walked he virtually strutted - there was an arrogance about him and he was very confident. On a couple of occasions he asked for directions and then went on his way.' Twice this week Chindamo caught a train from Beckenham to Central London where he met family and friends.

His release is understood to involve him being given a living allowance before he can attend a college course and seek eventual employment. It has also been claimed that he may be given access to a car and has 24-hour police protection through a panic alarm he carries with him.

The Daily Mail has acquired other new photographs of Chindamo. The most striking shows the physique he has honed and maintained during regular visits to the prison gymnasiums during the past 12 years. Chindamo poses for the camera with his little finger placed on his lip while his left hand cups a well-developed pectoral muscle.

The decision to release him came after a series of prison reports into his state of mind and 'fitness' to be returned to society. The reports - from psychologists and prison staff - describe Chindamo as a 'reformed character' and say he has been assessed as having a 'low likelihood of re-offending'. One woman probation officer tells how Chindamo claimed he still remembers in vivid detail the moment he took Mr Lawrence's life. 'Mr Chindamo says he had never stabbed anyone before and he recalls Mr Lawrence looking at him directly as he stabbed him - he says the image of Mr Lawrence staring back at him has stayed with him ever since,' she writes.

The report says Chindamo was aware through media reports of the 'impact of his actions upon Mrs Lawrence and her children', adding: 'For example, that her children had written to Father Christmas asking for their father to return and that one of her sons had suffered with depression.' Chindamo has even composed a letter to Mrs Lawrence but it is unlikely it will ever be sent to her.

In February, Chindamo's father Giuseppe was sentenced in Spain to a 25-year jail term for murdering a former girlfriend. The probation report states that while Chindamo has maintained contact with his mother Paquitta, who was born in the Philippines, stepfather and two brothers during his time in prison: 'Due to his father's previous violence towards Mr Chindamo's mother he has now chosen not to respond to his father's contact.'

Original report here



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