Margaret Parkes said her son’s suspected killer should ‘never be freed’
Margaret Parkes at her home in Kingswood, Bristol.(Image: SWNS)
The mother of a suspected victim of the ‘Frankenstein’ killer who disappeared from a Navy ship in the mid-1980s has expressed relief at his failed bid for freedom.
Margaret Parkes said her son’s suspected killer Allan Grimson, who was refused parole yesterday (Wednesday, July 2) should “never be freed” and urged him to give up details of what happened to her son.
She has spent nearly four decades desperate to know the whereabouts of her Naval rating son Simon Parkes, who was just 18 when he vanished without trace in the final leg of a worldwide deployment on HMS Illustrious in 1986.
His family are convinced he was another victim of serial killer Grimson, a former petty officer, who was also serving aboard the ship at the time.
Grimson was jailed for 22 years in 2001, then aged 42, for the murder of naval rating Nicholas Wright, 18 from Leicestershire, and barman Sion Jenkins, 20, from Newbury, Berkshire.
But he is now eligible for potential parole and the family feared he could soon be free.
After the hearing was delayed for several months, Simon’s family has been told he will remain in prison – after the parole board rejected his application on public safety grounds.
Simon Parkes.(Image: SWNS.com)
Margaret, 79, of Kingswood, near Bristol, said: “They have made the right decision. There was no other decision they could make.
“As a family we are going through a life sentence not knowing what happened to Simon or where he is buried.
“It is only right, at least until he gives up that information, that he suffers the same.”
Grimson, dubbed ‘Frankenstein’, who described killing as “better than sex’, has always denied involvement in the disappearance of Mr Parkes – although his family maintain they are “100 per cent certain” he was responsible.
A recent dig for his remains in Gibraltar failed to turn up fresh evidence, but Simon’s family have insisted Grimson must stay behind bars – and endure the same life sentence they have suffered.
In denying his latest bid for freedom, the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Allan Grimson following a paper review.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.“
The board said it had considered the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented in the dossier.
It said in its summary: “The panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public.”
Grimson will be eligible for another parole review in “due course” the report concluded.
Margaret Parkes at her home in Kingswood, Bristol.(Image: SWNS)
Margaret said: “I wasn’t officially told of the parole outcome – but I did learn of it yesterday. It was actually a surprise to hear the news as we didn’t know about the hearing.
“Of course I am very pleased and relieved.. I would be disgusted if he was freed.
“We haven’t had any update since the dig. We usually only hear things at the last moment.
“I don’t think very much of him to be honest. I don’t think about him at all really. He is out of my mind and I don’t want to concentrate on him.
“Of course it would be wonderful if he admitted to Simon’s disappearance and told us where he was – but I don’t know whether that will ever happen.
“We don’t hear much – only if there is going to be a search I suppose.”
A letter that was sent from Simon to his parents while he was in the Navy.(Image: SWNS)
Margaret said at the beginning the assumption was that Simon had just gone AWOL and after an initial search effort proved fruitless they went more than a decade with barely any contact from the authorities.
It wasn’t until Grimson was convicted of the other two murders that a link was made between him and Simon.
Margaret said: “We did not know anything really until the ship arrived back without him.”
Margaret said a lot of “assumptions” were made in the early years but she always maintained he had no reason not to want to come home.
She added: “We were getting letters phone calls from him saying, make sure you meet us at the docks and I want to do this and that when I get home.
“The search quickly went quiet and there were no leads for years. Then suddenly it was a phone call from Hampshire Police asking us to come and see them.
“That was awful but it was a relief to think we could hand this over to someone and they are dealing with it – at least we might get answers.”
Margaret said that while they hope for the ‘concrete’ evidence to prove beyond doubt Grimson is responsible, he should stay in prison.
She added: “I know Allan Grimson is responsible – I have no doubts at all but at the moment it is all circumstantial. We have to prove it. But as years have gone on, more has come forward and there is more evidence and hopefully it becomes more likely we can get the CPS to authorise charges.
“I think everything has to be done to prevent him getting parole.
“He is a danger to society. He was a petty officer and someone people looked up to.
“But he only got 22 years for two horrific murders. His words – they were better than sex – those were his words.
“It doesn’t sit well that he could be released. He is a psychopath. Do you ever change? I don’t think so.
“Our life sentence goes on. All I can say is Grimson will be a danger to society if he comes out – a leopard never changes his spots as they say.”
Paying tribute to Simon, Margaret who moved to her home in Kingswood with husband David a year after the disappearance, said: “He was just a typical 18 year old. He loved having fun and was always the joker. He always got on with people of all ages.
“He was a bit naïve and had never really left home before this trip. But everyone I spoke to said what a nice guy he was and they always remember him.
“We thought doing a trip like he did was such an adventure but that he would be in such a safe place. That was the feeling – he was with the navy and just doing his job.
“But of course he wasn’t safe.”