Rapist who murdered ex-girlfriend dies in prison

Victor Farrant, a rapist who was serving a whole-life sentence after murdering his former girlfriend, has died in prison.

The Prison Service said Farrant, 74, died at HMP Wakefield on Friday.

The children of victim Glenda Hoskins said his death had ended an "agonising two months" since they heard he was being considered for early release.

They added that everyone should "feel safer that this repeat offender psychopath will not strike again".

Farrant had been suffering from a longstanding health condition prior to his death and a coroner will now look into the cause of his death.

He was convicted of the murder of Mrs Hoskins, 44, his former girlfriend and mother-of-three, and the attempted murder of Ann Fidler, 45, in 1996.

Sentencing him to life, Mr Justice Butterfield, sitting at Winchester Crown Court in 1998, said Farrant was so dangerous that he should "never be released".

In a joint statement on Monday, Mrs Hoskins' children, Iain, Katie and David, said: "Farrant's whole-life sentence and the judge's remarks that he should die in prison should have been respected.

"However, Farrant's death, like his imprisonment, changes nothing for us. The circumstances and death of our mother, Glenda Hoskins, will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

"His death, though, does bring to a close a very painful chapter for us all.

"We, and the public at large, should certainly feel safer that this repeat-offender psychopath will not strike again."

Earlier this year, Mrs Hoskins' family said they had been contacted by officials who said Farrant was being considered for compassionate leave as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and could have months to live.

A Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) meeting in April looked at the case and the family said it had been passed to the prison governor to decide whether to make a formal application for his release.

Farrant was jailed in November 1988 for 12 years for rape and other offences, but just weeks after he was released on 7 November 1995, he beat Ms Fidler at her home in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

Six weeks later, he murdered accountant Mrs Hoskins at her luxury waterside home in Portsmouth by pushing her under the water in the bath.

He left her body in the attic, where it was found by her 15-year-old daughter Katie.

After killing Mrs Hoskins, Farrant went on the run and was eventually found in the south of France.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Victor Farrant died on 3 May at HMP Wakefield.

"As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed."