News Story

A murderer who absconded while temporarily out of prison had his initial application for compassionate release refused only for a court to overturn the decision, the Justice minister had said.

Police have appealed directly to Gary Anderson to hand himself in, while the public have been advised not to approach him.

Anderson, 29, was sentenced in 2023 to 15 years for the murder of Karol Kelly.

Father-of-five Mr Kelly died in Grafton Street in Londonderry in the early hours of March 4 2018 after an altercation during which he was stabbed several times.

Gary Anderson and his brother Sean Anderson were found guilty of the killing.

Police are appealing to the public for information to help locate Gary Anderson.

He was on day release from prison on Monday to attend the funeral of his father.

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke tabled an urgent oral question asking Justice minister Naomi Long to come to the Assembly on Tuesday to outline what happened.

“Gary Anderson absconded from a short period of leave under the Prison Service’s compassionate temporary release scheme,” explained Ms Long.

“All sentenced prisoners may apply for that kind of temporary release when a member of their immediate family has died or is critically ill.

“All applications made under the scheme are subject to a robust risk assessment that will consider the public safety risk posed by the prisoner together with their likelihood of absconding or reoffending.

“In the case of that prisoner, the Northern Ireland Prison Service considered and refused his application for compassionate temporary release.

“However, following an urgent judicial review, the court directed that a short period of release should be granted.

“Gary Anderson was subsequently released yesterday morning but absconded from his chaperone. That was a chaperone approved by the court and not a prison officer.

“The prisoner is currently unlawfully at large.”

The minister added: “The absconding was not due to abuse or failure of the Northern Ireland Prison Service compassionate temporary release scheme.

“The Prison Service, having conducted all the necessary checks and assessments, concluded that the prisoner was not safe to be released on a temporary basis. However, that decision was subsequently set aside by the court.

“Given those circumstances, I do not believe that it is necessary or proportionate for me to take steps to review how temporary release schemes operate, nor would doing so prevent similar occurrences in the future.”