One of Britain’s most wanted fugitives who is on the run over two brutal murders may be living in the Australian outback, new leads suggest.
Kevin Parle is believed to have gunned down 22-year-old Lucy Hargreaves and set fire to her body in Liverpool in 2005 while her three children slept upstairs.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Liam Kelly who was shot dead in the city in 2004.
Parle was arrested on suspicion of Liam’s murder but fled when he was later released on bail.
A global manhunt was launched but no one has so far been able to track him down.
Now new evidence uncovered by the West Australian newspaper suggests that Parle, who would now be in his 40s, had a relative who owned a stud farm in the region.
Kevin Parle is believed to have gunned down 22-year-old Lucy Hargreaves and set fire to her body in Liverpool in 2005 while her three children slept upstairs
22-year-old Lucy Hargreaves was murdered as she slept on a sofa in her house in Merseyside in 2005
16-year-old Liam Kelly was shot dead in Liverpool in 2004 – the case remains unsolved
Although, the exact location of the farm remains unknown, it is understood that he could have used it as a hideout.
The West Australian’s report also suggested that Parle has spent time in the outback and may have been spotted in Perth’s northern suburbs as well.
It comes after Australian Federal Police and Merseyside detectives said in 2016 they had credible information that Parle was in the country.
Former Scotland Yard police detective Peter Bleksley, was quoted in the newspaper report as saying he had uncovered ‘fresh details about his links to Australia’.
‘Until I receive irrefutable evidence of his death, I will always work on the theory that Parle is alive,’ he added.
‘Many sources have said he is very much living and breathing.’
Mr Bleksley has spent the past five years hunting Parle and previously said he had a ‘raft’ of information on the fugitive’s whereabouts.
In 2021, he said he would not give up on finding Parle, in spite of receiving chilling threats from online trolls trying to throw him off trail.
Mr Bleksley, who rose to fame on the Channel 4 show Hunted, previously claimed the investigation was hindered by beliefs that Parle was dead.
‘I happen to know, courtesy of courageous police officers, both former and serving from Merseyside Police and National Crime Agency that have confidentially spoken to me,’ he said in an interview on This Morning.
‘There are certain bosses within Merseyside Police that choose to believe the convenient rumour that Kevin Parle is dead, whilst not producing one shred of evidence to support that.
Images released by Merseyside Police that show age progression pictures of Parle
Former Scotland Yard police detective Peter Bleksley said he had uncovered ‘fresh details about his links to Australia’
‘And I’ve spoken to the man who’s responsible for spreading that rumour, four days after he got out of prison,’ he added.
‘I have considerable amount of evidence that categorically state that he is alive,’ Bleksley added.
Mother-of-three Lucy Hargreaves was shot three times as she slept on the sofa in her home in Merseyside in 2005.
Gary Campbell, Lucy’s boyfriend, who may have been the intended target, was sleeping upstairs with the couple’s youngest daughter Faye.
He escaped the blaze by jumping with his daughter from an upstairs window, before running inside to pull Lucy out.
Mr Campbell had allegedly been a passenger in a stolen car that hit and killed a four-year-old boy in 1993.
The child who had died was the brother of one of the defendants in the original case.
Tony Downes, stood trial at Liverpool Crown Court, but the case against him and Kirk Bradley, 21, both of Huyton, was dropped.
Judge Henry Globe, then the Recorder of Liverpool, ruled there was no case to answer and discharged the pair.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Baker said, when a fresh appeal was launched in 2018: ‘Lucy’s murder remains one of the most brutal crimes we have ever seen on Merseyside.
‘That night, after Lucy was shot, the offender poured petrol around the living room and hallway, before setting fire to the house.
‘We believe the offenders would have been in no doubt they were killing a young woman. Their callous actions would have claimed the lives of two more people that night had Gary, her partner, not escaped the flames by jumping with his daughter.
‘We are continually determined to bring Lucy Hargreaves’ killers to justice and are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
‘Lucy was an innocent victim and this year she should be celebrating her 35th birthday with her family – instead they have been robbed of a loving mother and daughter.’