THE family of a murdered mother have spoken of their fury that her killer has moved a step closer to freedom, despite refusing to reveal what he did with her body.

The Parole Board has ruled that murderer Russell Causley, who has spent 22 years in jail for the 1985 murder of his wife, Veronica Packman, of Westbourne, can be moved to an open prison.

The 75-year-old will be able to apply for day and weekend release from the Category D open prison after just three months.

Veronica's daughter Samantha Gillingham and grandson Neil Gillingham have repeatedly called for Causley to remain locked up until he tells them where he disposed of the 40-year-old's body.

In 1996 Causley became the first killer in British legal history to be found guilty of murder without his victim's body ever being found.

Mr Gillingham, 28, described Friday's decision as an 'absolute travesty' and demanded Causley be kept locked up.

He said: "There is no justice for my family or my grandmother. We are no closer to finding out where she is buried.

"It is horrific to think that within three months he will be able to apply for day and weekend release.

"The Parole Board's decision is a kick in the teeth to me and my mother.

"We feel so vulnerable. Our family are crumbling and we don't feel safe.

"This decision must be overturned. It is not acceptable and it undermines the fundamental bedrock of our justice system and the rehabilitation of offenders."

Causley's parole hearing took place on September 21 this year after Mr Gillingham and his mother wrote letters to them urging them to keep him in a closed prison.

But the Parole Board report states: "After considering the circumstances of offending, the changing environment with professionals, the inconsistent account of the offence and the personality traits displayed by Mr Causley, the panel assessed that it could not support its release.

"However, given the perceived reduction in his risk levels, his improved engagement with professionals and the need for him to be further tested to demonstrate sustained compliance, the panel recommended that he be progressed to the open prison estate."

Veronica Packman, known as Carole, disappeared from the family home in Ipswich Road in June 1985, shortly after visiting a solicitor to enquire about divorcing Causley.

Her electrical engineer husband had been having an affair and had moved his lover Patricia Causley into the family home a year before his wife's disappearance.

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.

But it was another 11 years before he was convicted of her murder following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

In 1993 he was jailed for two years over an elaborate attempt to fake his own death by pretending to fall off a yacht off Guernsey.

During his time in jail he confessed to cellmates about killing his first wife and their evidence was later used to convict him.

The conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal before a retrial was ordered in 2004, which again saw Causley found guilty and jailed for the murder.

In recent years Causley has offered differing accounts on what he did with his wife's body before retracting them.