Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas interviewed Russell Causley in a bid to find out what happened to his wife Carole, who was murdered in 1985
A grieving daughter is facing fresh heartache after it emerged that her murderer father could be released from jail without ever revealing what he did with her mother's body.
Russell Causley has spent 21 years in prison for the 1985 murder of his wife Carole Packman.
The now 74-year-old became the first killer in British legal history to be found guilty without his victim's body ever being found.
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas followed the case for an ITV documentary in an attempt to establish what happened to Carole.
Causley was convicted 11 years after Carole's disappearance following confessions he made to cellmates while serving time in prison for fraud - a sentence he was handed after a lavish attempt to fake his own death as part of an insurance scam in 1993.
In 2014 Carole's daughter Samantha Gillingham, 48, successfully pleaded with the Parole Board to keep her father incarcerated.
But she is now braced for a fresh parole hearing that could be held as early as September.
Mrs Gillingham said it fills her with horror that her remorseless father could be free within months while she will live forever wondering what happened to her mother.
She said: "It feels like the justice system is seriously pushing now for his release regardless of the fact he has not let me know where my mother is.
"A big part of what prison is about is rehabilitation and the first part of that is admitting that what you have done is wrong. He has never done that.
"He is not remorseful or repentant. He should not be released back into society.
"I just want to be able to lay my mother to rest. While he refuses to tell us where my mother is my son and I can't move forward.
"I have to remain strong and do the best I can but it feels like I'm on the edge of a cliff and the land is slipping beneath my feet."
The murder mystery of Carole Packman was featured last year on ITV's The Investigator: A British Crime Story.
The 40-year-old disappeared without warning in June 1985 from the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Mrs Gillingham recalled arriving home from school with her father to find a note left on the kitchen worktop with her mother's wedding ring, saying she had had enough and was leaving.
The 16-year-old found her mother's clothes, jewellery and Rolex watch still in the bedroom and she was never seen again.
Former electronics engineer Causley had been having an affair and moved his mistress, Patricia Causley, into the family home under the pretence that she needed somewhere to stay.
He then changed his surname to the same as his lover by deed poll.
But 11 years later Causley was jailed for two years after he tried to fake his own death in a boating accident in a million-pound insurance scam for which he was given a two-year prison sentence.
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas interviewed Russell Causley in a bid to find out what happened to his wife Carole, who was murdered in 1985
A grieving daughter is facing fresh heartache after it emerged that her murderer father could be released from jail without ever revealing what he did with her mother's body.
Russell Causley has spent 21 years in prison for the 1985 murder of his wife Carole Packman.
The now 74-year-old became the first killer in British legal history to be found guilty without his victim's body ever being found.
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas followed the case for an ITV documentary in an attempt to establish what happened to Carole.
Russell Causley has been in prison for 21 years(Image: ITV)
Causley was convicted 11 years after Carole's disappearance following confessions he made to cellmates while serving time in prison for fraud - a sentence he was handed after a lavish attempt to fake his own death as part of an insurance scam in 1993.
In 2014 Carole's daughter Samantha Gillingham, 48, successfully pleaded with the Parole Board to keep her father incarcerated.
But she is now braced for a fresh parole hearing that could be held as early as September.
Mrs Gillingham said it fills her with horror that her remorseless father could be free within months while she will live forever wondering what happened to her mother.
Carol Packman disappeared in the summer of 1985
She said: "It feels like the justice system is seriously pushing now for his release regardless of the fact he has not let me know where my mother is.
"A big part of what prison is about is rehabilitation and the first part of that is admitting that what you have done is wrong. He has never done that.
"He is not remorseful or repentant. He should not be released back into society.
"I just want to be able to lay my mother to rest. While he refuses to tell us where my mother is my son and I can't move forward.
"I have to remain strong and do the best I can but it feels like I'm on the edge of a cliff and the land is slipping beneath my feet."
Daughter Samantha Gillingham and her son Neil (Image: ITV)
The murder mystery of Carole Packman was featured last year on ITV's The Investigator: A British Crime Story.
The 40-year-old disappeared without warning in June 1985 from the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Mrs Gillingham recalled arriving home from school with her father to find a note left on the kitchen worktop with her mother's wedding ring, saying she had had enough and was leaving.
The 16-year-old found her mother's clothes, jewellery and Rolex watch still in the bedroom and she was never seen again.
Former electronics engineer Causley had been having an affair and moved his mistress, Patricia Causley, into the family home under the pretence that she needed somewhere to stay.
He then changed his surname to the same as his lover by deed poll.
But 11 years later Causley was jailed for two years after he tried to fake his own death in a boating accident in a million-pound insurance scam for which he was given a two-year prison sentence.
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Causley with his wife and their daughter (Image: ITV)
The fraud case prompted police to look into the disappearance of his wife and he was subsequently charged with murder.
He was tried in a landmark case at Winchester Crown Court in 1996. His conviction was later quashed on appeal but he was found guilty again at a re-trial in 2004.
Causley, now aged 74, has been eligible for parole for the last five years.
Mrs Gillingham, who lives in Northampton, is a vocal supporter of the Helen's Law campaign which was launched by Marie McCourt, mother of Helen McCourt, who was killed by pub landlord Ian Simms in Billinge, Merseyside, in 1988.
Like Causley, Simms has still not told Mrs McCourt what he did with her daughter's body.
Under the law convicted murderers would not be released from prison unless they reveal where their victims are buried.
Despite attracting 400,000 signatures and being debated in Parliament, it was not included in last month's Queen's speech, but campaigners are determined to keep pushing until the law is passed.
Mrs Gillingham said: "There needs to be a law brought in and applied at the point of sentence where the judge makes it abundantly clear if you don't disclose remains of the victim you will never be granted parole.
"There are many families unfortunately in the same position and we can't give up. We must keep on pushing until Helen's Law is passed."
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