A convicted child killer who was released from prison last month is back behind bars just 23 days later.
Naomi Smith, 15, was last seen leaving her home in Ansley Common, Nuneaton, to post a letter for her mother in 1995 before she was brutally murdered by Edwin Hopkins, aged 20.
Her mutilated body, which had been viscously sexually assaulted, was discovered in a playground just 120 yards from her home with a bite mark on her breast matching Hopkins’ jaw and her throat cut.
Hopkins was jailed for life in January 1997 in the face of overwhelming DNA evidence and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before he would be considered for parole, a tariff which ended in 2013.
The now 46-year-old had claimed he was passed over for parole in the years that followed because he wouldn’t admit his guilt for the crime, but is now returning to prison after he was found to have broken one of the conditions put in place over his release.
Hopkins was jailed for life in January 1997 in the face of overwhelming DNA evidence and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before he would be considered for parole, a tariff which ended in 2013
Naomi Smith, 15, was last seen leaving her home in Ansley Common, Nuneaton, to post a letter for her mother in 1995 before she was brutally murdered by Edwin Hopkins, aged 20
It is not clear what licence conditions he breached last week, but it is known that Hopkins had been banned from returning to the borough of Nuneaton, approaching his victim’s family or engaging in contact with children.
He is now behind bars again at an undisclosed prison. How long he will remain there has yet to be confirmed.
Naomi’s’ half-brother told MailOnline the murderer’s quick recall to prison showed that he should never have been released in the first place.
Andy Freeman, 45, added: ‘Hopkins should never have come out in the first place. The fact he wouldn’t admit what he had done, despite all the DNA evidence, showed he had no remorse.
‘Now he has breached his conditions of release in a matter of weeks. It’s obvious he has not learnt his lesson.’
Jailed sex killer Edwin Hopkins refused to admit murdering 15-year-old schoolgirl Naomi Smith. Her mutilated body was found in a park in 1995, just 120 yards from her home
Naomi was last seen leaving her home in Ansley Common in 1995 to post a letter for her mother. The 15-year-old’s mutilated body was found just 120 yards from their home. (Pictured: Naomi’s parents Brian and Katherine Smith arriving at Birmingham Crown Court for the start of Edwin Hopkins’s trial in 1997)
Hopkins was jailed for life in January 1997 after being convicted of the Nuneaton, Warwickshire. For at least the next 22 years he was held as a Category A prisoner – the highest security risk.
But in 2019, a High Court judge ruled Hopkins should be granted a hearing over a move to an open prison. He was eventually transferred to open conditions in 2021 and was released on December 18.
Naomi was last seen leaving her home in Ansley Common, Nuneaton, to post a letter for her mother. She was found with a bite mark on her breast which matched Hopkins’s ‘lop-sided’ jawline perfectly. She had been viciously sexually assaulted and her throat cut.
Hopkins was ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before he would be considered for parole, a tariff which ended in 2013.
In a statement, the Probation Service said: ‘Protecting the public is our number one priority. That’s why we set tough licence conditions and when offenders breach them, we don’t hesitate to return them to custody.’
Family and friends lay down flowers at Naomi’s funeral after the teenagers mutilated body, which had been viscously sexually assaulted, was discovered in a playground just 120 yards from her home
In a summary of the decision to release Hopkins after what was the Parole Board’s fifth review of his case, it was stated that, following a risk assessment, the board felt he no longer poses a risk of re-offending.
It said that while Hopkins believed ‘had the right to have sex as and when he wanted to’ at the time of the offence, misused alcohol and had ‘difficulties in managing extreme emotions’, evidence had been presented showing the progress the killer had made in custody.
The summary added that Hopkins had ‘undertaken accredited programmes to address his use of violence and his decision-making as well as working on anger management, his use of alcohol, victim awareness, and he has worked with a psychologist to explore sexual offending.
It added: ‘No significant concerns have been raised about Mr Hopkins’ behaviour in custody.’
Mr Freeman said the family had not been told which prison Hopkins is being held at, or why he was recalled.
‘All we know is that he hasn’t hurt anybody’, he added.
