Lynette White: Murderer Jeffrey Gafoor to be released from prison

A man who brutally murdered a young woman in a flat in Cardiff, which then led to one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice, is to be released from prison on licence after serving 21 years.

Jeffery Gafoor, 59, stabbed Lynette White more than 50 times and slit her throat on Valentine’s Day 1988, but was not jailed until 2003.

Five men were then falsely accused of the murder, and three of them were convicted before being released by the Court of Appeal.

In a private hearing – Gafoor’s sixth – the Parole Board concluded the risk he posed could be safely managed in the community – although it indicated that he will not be released immediately.

The Parole Board advised that a request can be made within 21 days for the decision to release him to be considered again.

It indicated that Gafoor would remain in jail until a decision has been made on an application for reconsideration.

Stephen Miller, Yusef Abdullahi and Tony Paris were wrongly jailed for life for stabbing the 20-year-old to death before being released in 1992.

Gafoor admitted the murder in 2003 after advances in DNA technology linked him to the crime and was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 13 years.

He was denied parole on five previous occasions.

Gafoor has been held in an open prison since 2020 and was granted day release in January 2023.

The initial investigation into Ms White’s death lead to one of Britain’s longest criminal trials, followed by the wrongful convictions.

After Ms White’s murder, detectives investigating the case said they were hunting a white suspect, but later arrested five black and mixed-race men.

A trial into allegations of police corruption collapsed in 2011, after files relating to complaints by an original defendant were said to have been destroyed.

Eight former officers who denied the charges against them were acquitted.

In 2021, the then chief constable of South Wales Police Matt Jukes said members of the Cardiff Five – as the men originally accused of the murder became known – should be recognised as victims.

Speaking before the Parole Board hearing earlier this month, John Actie, one of five five wrongly accused of the killing, said it should “definitely” be held in public.

His lawyers had argued for a private hearing to prevent a “negative impact” on the process.

They also said Gafoor’s autism spectrum disorder would mean a public hearing would be too stressful.

The Parole Board then concluded a public hearing was “not appropriate” and held the hearing in private.