Stewart Diamond’s victim’s family have long protested his release
Carrington Walker GAU Writer and Paddy Edrich
08:15, 06 Feb 2026
Stewart Diamond is now aged 48
A man who has never revealed what he did with his victim’s severed head could be released after spending almost 30 years in custody, a Parole Board panel has said.
Stuart Diamond lured 17‑year‑old Christopher Hartley to a flat in December 1997 before strangling him and dismembering his body. Christopher’s remains were later discovered in a hotel bin, reports the ECHO.
Diamond was convicted of murder and detained at Ashworth high‑security hospital under the Mental Health Act, where a judge warned that “the most anxious consideration” would be needed before any future release .
He has remained in detention well beyond his minimum tariff, partly due to long‑running campaigns by Christopher’s mother, Jean Hartley. She has consistently argued that Diamond should not be freed while refusing to disclose the location of her son’s head, saying the lack of answers has denied the family closure.
Christopher Hartley’s head has never been found
The killer, now aged 48, was made the subject of a deferred conditional discharge by a mental health review tribunal in February 2025, meaning any plans for care in the community had not yet been put in place. However, Diamond appeared before the Parole Board in January for the first time.
During the proceedings, a panel judged that his imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public. Diamond can now be released, walking the streets subject to strict licence conditions set by the Parole Board.
The ECHO reports that parole documents, seen by its reporters, indicate the panel identified several risk factors that increased the likelihood of Diamond reoffending. The prisoner reassured the panel that he had carried a kitchen knife due to his increasing paranoia and had known that he needed help.
He allegedly showed “significant victim empathy” when speaking of the impact his horrific actions have had on Christopher’s family, according to the documents. Diamond had been abusing alcohol and drugs during his time of offending, the panel considered, and “had been willing to involve himself in violence and to act without thinking about the consequences”.
Stewart Michael Diamond, 30, had been out of prison for just three months in 1997, when he brutally strangled Christopher Hartley in a bedsit and hacked him to pieces in the bathroom.
“In this case, protective factors, which would reduce the risk of reoffending, were considered to be Mr Diamond’s improved ability to manage violent situations and the fact that there had been a lack of evidence of violence for a number of years,” they determined. “Mr Diamond had also developed a sense of structure and routine in his life.”
Diamond has already spent unescorted overnight stays outside of his detention, among the unknowing public, according to the documents, during a test via independent living opportunities.
Last month, speaking with the ECHO, Ms Hartley, described Diamond’s brutal slaying of her son as causing “unimaginable suffering” for her and her family.
“I still to this day have nightmares – it has destroyed my whole family.” Ms Hartley said. “I hate Diamond. I can’t forgive him for putting my family through hell.”
Christopher had grown up in Burnley, moving to Blackpool to find seasonal work at the seaside town’s Pleasure Beach, eventually meeting his killer, Diamond. On the day of his murder, he had left his sister’s home and met Diamond, who had moved to Lancashire from his native Ireland.
During the trial in 1999, the court heard that Diamond had strangled and smothered Christopher before butchering his body into three pieces in the shared bathroom of the flats. Investigators found blood stains and tissue in the flat, as well as Diamond’s fingerprint in Christopher’s blood on a stool leg.
Jurors dismissed his attempt to blame the killing on drug dealers, intent on framing him. Diamond fled to Ireland in the aftermath but was later extradited to face trial. It emerged during proceedings that he already had two convictions for violence, including an 18‑month spell in a young offenders’ institution for slashing a man across the face with a knife.
A psychiatric report from an earlier case recorded that Diamond had fantasised about committing murder. He had been out on licence only a matter of weeks when he killed Christopher.
Jean Hartley said Diamond’s refusal to show remorse or disclose the full truth of what happened meant he should never have been considered for release. She added that the prospect of him returning to the community left her fearing she could one day come face to face with her son’s killer.
“Mr Diamond had completed necessary work to address identified risk factors and areas of his life that had impacted on his behaviour towards others,” the parole panel found following the hearing. “The panel noted there was no ongoing evidence of problematic behaviour, emotional instability, poor compliance or pro-violent attitudes.”
Diamond’s release conditions include:
To comply with requirements to reside at a designated address, to be of good behaviour, to disclose developing relationships, and to report as required for supervision or other appointments.To submit to an enhanced form of supervision or monitoring including a specified curfew.To comply with other identified limitations concerning contacts, activities, residency and an exclusion zone to avoid contact with victims.To continue to work on addressing defined areas of risk in the community.
Christopher’s loved ones have long pleaded that a killer should not be released into the community if they have never served any of their sentence in a mainstream prison population.
Under the current law, a convicted murderer can seek parole directly from a high-security hospital. Ms Hartley asked: “How can he be fit to live in the community if he has never been fit to be in a normal prison?”
The family has started a petition calling on a reform of UK law regarding parole eligibility for people convicted of murder.
The online petition reads: “While mental health care is vital for the rehabilitation of offenders, it must not replace the core principle of accountability for serious crimes such as murder. Allowing parole without prison time undermines justice, erodes public confidence and places additional emotional strain on victims’ families.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “Being held in a psychiatric hospital does not change the minimum time a life-sentence prisoner must serve before they can be considered for release. The offender’s liberty is restricted, and they must complete treatment before any return to prison or release into the community.”
If you want to learn more about the petition and sign it to support Christopher’s family click HERE.
