Shoe fetish killer Christopher Farrow who raped and murdered Wakefield mum Wendy Speakes has parole bid rejected

Christopher Farrow has been told he must remain in prison for at least two more years over the sadistic murder of Wendy Speakes. Farrow has spent almost 23 years in prison since being given a life sentence in November 2000.

Farrow murdered Mrs Speakes at her home on Balne Lane, Wakefield, on March 15, 1994. He forced his way into his victim’s home before tying her up with a pair of stockings and forcing her to wear a pair of blue mule shoes. The 51-year-old receptionist was then raped and stabbed to death.

Documents state Farrow is ‘likely to reoffend’ if released from custody. The 61-year-old’s case was considered by a Parole Board panel at a hearing on May 31. The document states: “The panel listed as risk factors those influences which made it more likely that Mr Farrow would re-offend. At the time of his offending, these risk factors had included Mr Farrow’s sexual interests, his attitudes concerning women, and problems in his relationships. He had thought a lot about sex and had believed he could have sex as and when he wanted. Mr Farrow had also experienced difficulties in managing extremes of emotion.”

Mrs Speakes’ daughter, Tracey Millington-Jones, has campaigned for Farrow to never be released. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’m very thankful and grateful to the Parole Board for their decision. Common sense has prevailed. This man has been in prison for 23 years now and he has still has not completed the courses he needs to do to rehabilitate. To me this is a major red flag. How will he change and control his urges in the near future if he hasn’t managed to do so in 23 years? How on earth is he ever not going to be a risk to women?

“It is a relief, albeit short-lived, that I now have another two years before I have to start campaigning to keep him in prison and prepare for the ordeal of the next hearing. I think it is important for people to realise that life doesn’t mean life. The victims have to continually live through parole hearings every two years and await the decisions, which is an ordeal in itself. He may be in prison for now, but every two years he is entitled to apply for release and myself and his victims have to go through it all over again.”

It is the third time Farrow has been rejected by the Parole Board. He has now been locked up five years beyond his minimum jail term of 18 years. The Parole Board recommended Farrow be moved to an open prison in preparation for release after a hearing in 2018, but he was soon returned to a secure prison. At a hearing in 2020, he was assessed as unsuitable for release.

Ms Millington-Jones added: “”Farrow has never shown any remorse. He took a pair of my mother’s shoes as a murder trophy and has never revealed where he has hidden them. Since his parole hearing in 2018, other women have come forward to me to say they were targeted by him.

"It is my belief he offended before and after he did what he did to my mum and that he is a serial predatory stalker of women. You don’t just wake up one day and stalk, plan and prepare a murder kit then rape and stab a stranger to death without building up to it. He obviously had a thirst for more as he was out stalking and attempting to get women on their own in their homes within weeks of murdering my lovely mum. In my opinion this man could have gone on to be the next Yorkshire Ripper.”

Farrow’s progress and behaviour in prison were assessed at last week’s hearing. The document says: “At this stage, no key report writer could support Mr Farrow’s release on parole licence. The panel considered that Mr Farrow was appropriately located in custody where outstanding levels of risk could be contained.”

Farrow, from Cookridge, Leeds, was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 18 years after pleading guilty to murder. He was given determinate sentences of 14 years for rape and a further serious sex offence. Farrow was also given a four-year sentence for the attempted burglary of another woman’s house with intent to rape her on the same day, less than an hour earlier.

The father-of-three was caught after a six-year manhunt when advances in fingerprint technology linked him to a partial print found at the scene. Farrow’s fingerprints were taken by police after he was arrested for drink-driving while he was still at large following the murder.