Killer denied parole for refusing to reveal where victim's body is hidden

Peter Turner, now aged 54, was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years at Sheffield Crown Court for killing his former girlfriend Teresa Shephard, 26, in July 1996.

The cutlery worker had vanished from her house near in Basegreen, near Frecheville, Sheffield, in June 1995.

But despite extensive efforts, her body has never been found.

Turner, from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, has maintained his innocence during the last 30 years - claiming he can't guide police to Teresa's remains as he doesn't know where it is.

Turner was eligible for release in July 2013 and the latest hearing - concluding on October 6 - was the seventh parole board he has gone before.

However, panel members have concluded again that the killer will remain behind bars "for the protection of the public".

It comes as last month police began excavating an area of land off Piper Lane in Aston, Rotherham, in search of Teresa's body however after days of searching they announced nothing had been found.

A large police cordon was put up around the site alongside several police vans.

Aston lies between Teresa's home and where Turner lived at the time of her murder.

Among their concerns for not releasing him was Turner's alleged "lack of disclosure".

The Parole Board report reads: "The panel considered that some of Mr Turner's risk factors would be likely to include his use of violence and a willingness to carry weapons, problems in intimate relationships and Mr Turner's poor decision-making.

"Previous professional assessment of Mr Turner had identified a lack of empathy, a lack of remorse or guilt, and conning and manipulative behaviour."

It added: "In its assessment of the evidence the panel found Mr Turner to have extremely limited insight into his risk to the public or his offending behaviour."

Panellists heard Turner's behaviour had been "exemplary" for many years and there had been no evidence of any direct violence throughout his time in prison.

However his release or progression to an open prison was "not recommended".

He will be considered for parole again "in due course".

Teresa was last seen by her grandmother when she went to pick up some washing.

She had also told friends on the day she went missing that she was catching a tram to a nearby shopping centre.

There she would meet a man for a picnic in some fields - but she was never seen again.

Despite the missing body, Turner was convicted of Teresa's murder.

Teresa was described as a "bubbly" and prosecution lawyers told the trial that Turner was a "possessive and obsessive" ex-lover.

Roger Keen QC told Sheffield Crown Court she had vanished while due to give evidence against Turner in an upcoming trial.

Jealous and obsessed Turner had almost killed her new partner when he attacked him with a hammer after posing as a prospective buyer for a house the new boyfriend was selling.

Jurors heard Teresa's blood and been found in Turner's car which he explained by saying the pair had inside the vehicle during her period.

However he had no excuses for a book of Supertram tickets purchased using Teresa's card on the last day she was seen alive.