Man who killed his wife and two kids in Northampton home in 2000 recommended for open prison again

A man who killed his wife, two children and two dogs in their Northampton home in 2000 has been recommended for a move to open prison.

Phillip Austin murdered Claire Austin who was 31 and her two children, Keiren, eight, and Jade, seven, as well as their two dogs on July 10, 2000, at their Standens Barn home.

In 2001, Austin was sentenced to a 20-year sentence.

When Austin was first up for parole, the Parole Board recommended that he be moved to an open prison, where he would get more freedom and privileges. However, the Secretary of State, at the time, refused the move.

The now 54-year-old once again appeared before the Parole Board on May 16, 2023. In a decision summary published on Friday (June 1), the board has - once again - recommended that he is moved to an open prison.

Carol Quinn - Claire’s mum and Kerien and Jade’s grandmother - said she felt like “the world dropped” when she heard the news.

The distraught relative said: “On Friday night I just thought ‘I cannot take anymore’ but then on Saturday morning I got up and thought ‘we have to do everything we can to keep that swine inside’.

“The worst thing will be having him out.

“There is not a soul in Northampton that would want him living next door to them.”

Carol went on to say she has worked with two psychologists on documentaries about Austin and both of them said “he is a psychopath and he will kill again”.

“That’s my fear,” Carol added.

“All these years he has been successful in courses in prison, but what relationship has he had with another woman or what pressures has he had with money or children running around?”

Although Austin did not seek release and the Parole Board said he did not meet the test for release, it has recommended that he be moved to an open prison - just as it did two years ago.

In the decision summary, the Parole Board said it looked at risk factors at the time Austin committed the murders. The board said they included “difficulties he had in relationships, his misuse of alcohol, his lack of self-worth and his early life experiences”. Carol disputes the “difficulties in relationships and misuse of alcohol”.

The summary added that Austin had undertaken “extensive work, including accredited programmes, to address his offending behaviour”, as well as a regime designed by psychologists to help people recognise and deal with their problems.

The report says: “No further work had been identified for Austin to complete in a closed prison.”

According to the report, witnesses supported the request for open prison, were “confident” Austin would succeed there and that it is an “essential step” in preparing him for a “possible future release on licence”. They added that he was not likely to abscond if he was moved to open prison.

The Secretary of State will now decide whether he accepts the Parole Board’s recommendation to move Austin to an open prison.

Carol and her family continue to petition to make a “life sentence mean life”. They have a petition on change.org.