Warning: this article contains details some readers may find very distressing.

A Harrogate killer will not be moved to an open prison despite recommendations made by the Parole Board.

Martin Bell, who fatally attacked Gemma Simpson at his Harrogate flat in May 2000, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years in December 2014.

He was ordered to serve a total of 11 years and 205 days behind bars, due to time spent on remand, after pleading guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility at Leeds Crown Court.

But just over a decade later, on June 12 this year, a hearing was held to consider if Bell was deemed fit to move to an open prison.

Open prisons – or category D prisons – are the lowest security prisons and allow inmates to spend most of their day away from custody. They can go to work, enrol in education and access services to assist them with reintegrating into society.

A Parole Board panel deemed Bell, who repeatedly struck Gemma with a hammer before dismembering and burying her body, suitable for the transfer and recommended he be moved to an open prison on June 26.

However, the move was still subject to approval by the Secretary of State, and the Stray Ferret can now reveal Bell’s transfer was denied.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed the decision to the Stray Ferret today (August 4). 

We asked why Bell’s transfer was rejected, despite the Parole Board believing the killer is remorseful and “understands the nature and gravity of his offending”.

A spokesperson for the MoJ said:

The MoJ carries out a three-step test to decide if an indefinite-sentenced prisoner is suitable for open prison conditions following a recommendation by the Parole Board. 

The Secretary of State must believe the prisoner has taken sufficient steps to address and reduce risk to a level consistent with protecting the public from harm, and find them at low risk of absconding. 

In addition, there must be a wholly persuasive case for transferring the prisoner from closed to open conditions in order for the move to be approved. 

If this test is not met, the Secretary of State will deny the transfer to open prison. 

‘Finally, Gemma is getting a piece of justice’

Gemma was a young teenager when she met Bell. 

He was seven years her senior and became obsessed with her in the years following – even sending her roses on her sixteenth birthday.

“Nowadays, it would be seen as grooming”, Gemma’s sister, Krista, last year told the Stray Ferret.

But Bell’s dark fascination with Gemma would take a fatal turn on May 5, 2000.

Bell told the court the pair had argued at his flat on that fated night. He claimed Gemma asked where his children lived during the row, which he “interpreted as a threat to his children”, before repeatedly striking her over the head with a hammer.

Fearing Gemma would regain consciousness, he then stabbed her in the back and the back of the head – but Gemma was still alive.

Bell dragged her into a bath, laid her face down, tied her hands behind her back and filled the bath with water.

He left Gemma in the bath for several days, before dismembering her body.

Gemma was considered a missing person for the next 14 years, leaving her family in limbo, until Bell walked into Scarborough Police Station and confessed.

The prospect of Bell walking the streets again terrified Krista and the rest of Gemma’s family, and her and her sister Naomi have campaigned tirelessly against the transfer.

Not only do they feel Bell is a threat to their family, but to women in general.

The sisters previously told the Stray Ferret they believe the Parole Board’s decision was rushed and questioned whether it was motivated by prison capacity. 

However, the family welcomed the MoJ’s decision to dismiss Bell’s transfer. Krista told the Stray Ferret:

Bell has not yet completed his minimum term, which means he is not eligible for release until at least July 12, 2026. 

The Stray Ferret has covered Bell's case extensively. You can read a full interview with Krista, Gemma's sister, here.