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A killer whose twisted gang tortured and murdered a teenage girl to a soundtrack inspired by horror character Chucky has a parole hearing and could walk free.
Glyn Powell, now 58, was one of four people convicted of kidnapping, torturing and burning 16-year-old Suzanne Capper alive in Greater Manchester in December 1992.
Detectives who carried out the investigation said that by “sheer senseless brutality” the crime was on a par with the torture inflicted on the children by Moorish murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
The November 1993 trial was overshadowed by the verdict of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who were convicted on November 24 of that year of kidnapping and murdering young boy James Bulger in Bootle, Merseyside.
As a result, the gruesome details of the prolonged assault on Suzanne received a very low level of publicity, despite the fact that the murder was one of the most shocking in recent UK criminal history.
Suzanne Capper, 16, from Greater Manchester, was brutally murdered in December 1992. She was tortured for a week before being burned alive.
Glyn Powell (above), now 58, was one of four people convicted of kidnapping, torturing and setting fire to Suzanne Capper. He could soon be released from prison, with a Parole Board hearing scheduled for April.
But the two murders combined to get national newspapers and top politicians commenting on the state of the nation.
Tony Blair, who was shadow Home Secretary at the time, described the killings as “hammer blows against the dormant conscience of the country”.
It was told at the trial how Suzanne believed her killers were friends because they all lived and consorted in Moston on the east side of Manchester.
Whatever the actual motive, and each defendant gave conflicting accounts, such as claiming Suzanne had stolen a duffle coat, on December 7, 1992, she was lured to the home of Jean Powell, whose husband Glyn and Anthony Dudson were waiting for her.
Suzanne, a student at Moston Brook High School, had spent time caring for Powell’s three children in the rowhouse.
They grabbed her as soon as she arrived and held her down while Powell shaved her head and eyebrows, then forced her to clean her hair and place it in a bin.
He then placed a plastic bag over her head and walked around her while hitting her on the head.
The next day, Suzanne was taken to the nearby home of Bernadette McNeilly, another supposed friend who had turned against her.
A Room of Horror: Suzanne Capper was held captive in this room and tied to a bed where she was tortured by her killers and subjected to loud music.
The prosecution revealed that the gang’s favorite song was ‘Hi, I’m Chucky (Wanna Play?)’ by 150 Volts, featuring samples from the movie Child’s Play, with one of their ruthless killers, Bernadette McNeilly, beginning each session. torture with the phrase: ‘Chucky is coming to play’. Pictured is an image of the slasher horror character, Chucky.
Jon Venables, left, and Robert Thompson, right, brutally murdered James Bulger in February 1993. They were convicted in November of that year, the outcome dwarfing the trial of Suzanne Capper’s killers that same month.
James Bugler, pictured, was two years old when he was kidnapped, tortured and killed by Venables and Thompson.
During the 22-day trial, it emerged that she was then tied to a bed, beaten and tortured for nearly a week.
Suzanne was also injected with amphetamines and burned with cigarettes while they played rave music at the highest level to torment her and hide her screams.
The prosecution revealed that his killers’ favorite song was ‘Hello, I’m Chucky (wanna play?)’ by 150 Volts, with samples from the movie Child’s Play.
The 1988 American slasher film is the first in a franchise about a serial killer who transfers his soul into an evil doll.
McNeilly began each torture session with the phrase “Chucky is coming to play.”
In the early morning of December 14, 1992, Suzanne was forced into a car and driven 15 miles to an isolated lane on the outskirts of Stockport.
They pushed her into the brambles and poured gasoline on her head. Several of the assassins, including Glyn Powell, attempted to set it on fire.
The gasoline finally ignited and as Suzanne burned, McNeilly began to sing ‘Burn, baby, burn! Burn baby burn!’ from the song Disco Inferno by The Trammps.
After her attackers left, Suzanne managed to scramble up the embankment and stagger down the road for about a quarter of a mile.
Gang members Jean Powell (now Gillespie), left, and Jeffrey Leigh, were part of the group involved in the murder of the teenager.
Anthony Dudson (left) was 17 when he was convicted and received a minimum sentence of 18 years, reduced to 16 on appeal. He is pictured with fellow gang member Bernadette McNeilly.
She was found by a driver on her way to work. Suzanne had suffered 80 percent burns and died in the hospital on December 18, 1992.
However, before losing consciousness in the hospital, Suzanne was able to give the names of six people involved in her abduction and torture.
The jury began its deliberations on December 16, 1993, and took nine hours and 52 minutes to reach its verdict.
Judge Potts said: “Each of you has been convicted on clear evidence of murder, which was as gruesome a murder as it is possible to imagine.”
Glyn Powell, who was 29 at the time of the murder, Jean Powell (now Gillespie), then 26, Bernadette McNeilly, 24, and Anthony Dudson, 17, were found guilty of murder.
Gillespie, McNeilly and Powell were sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years.
Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years, later reduced to 16.
Clifford Pook, Jean’s brother, and Jeffrey Leigh pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and received sentences of 15 and 12 years, respectively.
McNeilly’s sentence was reduced by one year in 2013. Leigh’s sentence was reduced from 12 to nine years in November 1994.
Dudson’s minimum fee was lowered from 18 to 16 in 2002. Leigh was released in 1998 and Pook in May 2001.
McNeilly was paroled in 2015 after his 25-year sentence was reduced by one year. Dudson was released from prison in 2013. In 2017, Jean Gillespie, formerly Powell, was released from prison.
John Capper, Suzanne’s stepfather, leaves Manchester Crown Court after his stepdaughter’s murderers were sentenced.
In 2013, Suzanne’s mother spoke of her “utter devastation” after parole board chiefs approved Dudson’s release after ruling he posed no risk to the public.
She told the Manchester Evening News: ‘I am completely devastated by the news. I’ve been fighting and fighting and fighting, but it hasn’t gotten me anywhere.
You will have a lifetime license but I expect regular checks. We don’t even know what she looks like. The only photo of him is when he was 16 years old.
A Parole Board spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that Glyn Powell’s parole review has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. A hearing is expected to take place in April 2023.
‘Parole Board decisions focus solely on what risk an inmate might pose to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a wide range of evidence, including details of the original crime and any evidence of behavior change, as well as explore the harm done and the impact the crime has had on victims.
‘Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports before an oral hearing.
‘Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officers who supervise the offender in prison, as well as personal statements from the victim, may be presented at the hearing.
“It is standard that the prisoner and witnesses are cross-examined extensively during the hearing, which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are conducted thoroughly and with the utmost care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.’