A FATHER who strangled and set on fire the mother of his two children asked to be released from prison.
Alan Jermey was jailed for life in 2009 with a minimum tariff of 15 years, aged 41, for the murder of his partner Kirsty Wilson – a Mercedes executive who worked in Basingstoke.
He claimed in court that someone broke in and murdered her at their Woking home. However, an Old Bailey jury found him guilty of murdering mother-of-two Kirsty, 34. He set her body alight to try and make it appear as if she had died in a fire before calling 999.
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When firefighters arrived there were only a few wisps of smoke and the crew noticed how calm and unconcerned Jermey – a car salesman - was about what had happened.
After serving 15 years in prison, Jermey requested release. The parole board recommended that he should be transferred to an open prison.
At the hearing, where Jermey gave evidence to a panel that also heard personal victim statements, it was recommended that he be placed in open conditions.
The report stated that at the time of his offence, his risk of reoffending included not dealing well with feelings of jealousy in a relationship; not being able to control strong emotions; not understanding the harm that his actions caused to the victim; and acting on the spur of the moment without thinking adequately about the consequences.
The panel heard that Jermey had since engaged with work focusing on understanding relationships and handling emotions. He had also engaged with educational and vocational courses.
It concluded that release from prison would not be safe ‘for the protection of the public’ and instead recommended he be placed in open conditions.
However, the Secretary of State for Justice blocked his transfer to an open prison.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “Public protection is our number one priority which is why the Secretary of State for Justice blocked Alan Jermey’s transfer to open prison.”
It said a stringent three-step test must be met before transferring a prisoner to open conditions including proving they are low risk of absconding; and that they are not a risk to the public.
At the time Jermey was sentenced, the judge said he had jeopardised his children’s lives by starting the fire.
Ms Wilson was originally from Bradford, West Yorkshire and had trained as a teacher before going to work as a graduate trainee at Tony Purslow Mercedes dealership in Basingstoke, in 1998.
The Gazette reported at the time that staff at the car dealership mourned the loss of their popular colleague, who was business development and customer relations manager for the company.
She worked in Basingstoke for 10 years, becoming part of the management team in 2002.
