Convicted child killer who was recalled to prison just 23 days after being ... trends now
A convicted child killer who was recalled to prison just 23 days after being released on licence will face a parole hearing in weeks and will argue that he should be freed.
Edwin Hopkins murdered Naomi Smith, 15, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, in 1995 and was released in December 2023 after almost 27 years in prison.
The killer, 20 at the time, ambushed Naomi just 120 yards from her home in Ansley Common, Nuneaton, after she left to post a letter for her mother.
Her mutilated body, which had been viscously sexually assaulted, was discovered in a playground with a bite mark on her breast matching Hopkins' jaw and her throat cut.
Hopkins was jailed for life in January 1997 in the face of overwhelming DNA evidence and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before he would be considered for parole, a tariff which ended in 2013.
Edwin Hopkins, pictured here in the 1990s, was only out of prison for 23 days after release
He murdered 15 year old Naomi Smith when she was out posting a letter for her mother
The now 46-year-old had claimed he was passed over for parole in the years that followed because he wouldn't admit his guilt for the crime, but was returned to prison after he was found to have broken one of the conditions put in place over his release.
He was recalled in the first week of January 2024. It is not clear what licence conditions he breached and the Ministry of Justice does not comment on individual cases.
However, it is known that Hopkins had been banned from returning to the borough of Nuneaton, approaching his victim's family or engaging in contact with children.
MailOnline has learned that Hopkin's case is in the middle of a Member Case Assessment (MCA), whereby a single member determines whether the case can be concluded on the papers or it requires an oral hearing.
In this matter, the panel member can decide it was right to recall Hopkins to jail under his licence conditions, or it was wrong and he should be released again.
Alternatively, the member can decide Hopkins has the right to argue his case in front of a full three person Parole Board panel.
If the latter course is agreed, after a hearing in a few weeks time, the board has 14-days to deliver its verdict. If successful, Hopkins, whose original release was opposed by Naomi's family, will be given his freedom again.
A spokesperson for the
