article: The Parole Board is reviewing the case of Colin Pitchfork, who was jailed for life in 1988 on the basis of DNA evidence after raping and killing two schoolgirls . The Parole Board is reviewing the case of a murderer who was the first man to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence. Colin Pitchfork was jailed for life in 1988 for raping and killing two schoolgirls. He strangled 15-year-old Lynda Mann to death after raping her on a deserted footpath in the Leicestershire village of Narborough in 1983. Three years later he raped and killed Dawn Ashworth, also 15, less than a mile from where he murdered Lynda. Pitchfork was finally caught two years later thanks to DNA tests on all the men in surrounding villages. He received a 30-year minimum sentence which was then cut to 28 years in 2009, meaning he was supposed to be eligible for release next year. A spokesman for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that the Secretary of State for Justice has referred the case of Colin Pitchfork to the Parole Board for a review of his suitability for release. 'If the Board does not direct his release, it has been asked to advise the Secretary of State on his suitability for open conditions (Category D prison).' Once a case has been referred to the Board, it usually takes around six months before a decision is issued, meaning the double murderer could be out this year. Pitchfork argued at his 2009 appeal against his sentence that the 30 years was 'manifestly' excessive. He was jailed at Leicester Crown Court in 1988 after pleading guilty to two counts of murder, two of rape, two of indecent assault and one of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Announcing the decision to reduce the minimum term by two years in 2009, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said the appeal was being allowed to a 'very restricted and limited extent relating to exceptional progress in custody'. He emphasised that the decision 'has no bearing whatever on the continuing effect of the sentence of life imprisonment on the appellant'. The judge added: 'He cannot be released unless and until the safety of the public is assured.' Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge ruled in 2009 that Pitchfork should not be released until the public could be assured it was safe . After the world's first mass screening for DNA - where 5,000 men in three villages were asked to volunteer blood or saliva samples - Pitchfork was eventually caught. The Lord Chief Justice at the time said after he was jailed that 'from the point of view of the safety of the public I doubt if he should ever be released'. Lord Judge said in 2009 that Pitchfork's progress since he was first incarcerated 'goes far beyond general good behaviour and positive response to his custodial sentence, but reflects very creditable assistance to disabled individuals outside the prison system'. He added: 'On the evidence before us he has sought to address the reasons behind the commission of these offences. He has achieved a high standard of education, to degree level. 'In 20 years in custody he has never been placed on report and he is trusted to help with the well-being of fellow inmates.' Lord Judge said: 'Beyond all that he has made himself a specialist in the transcription of printed music into Braille, thus using the opportunities he has taken to educate himself in prison to the benefit of others. 'This is an intensely specialised skill and his work is used throughout this country and internationally with the support of the RNIB.' Lord Judge said the court could not 'identify any sufficient reason' why the exceptional progress made 'should not be recognised and given practical effect in the assessment now to be made of the minimum term to be served by the appellant', and reduced it by two years. On November 22, 1983, the body of 15-year-old Lynda Mann was found raped and strangled on a deserted footpath running between a cemetery and a psychiatric hospital in the Leicestershire village of Narborough. Almost three years later, in July 1986, the body of another 15-year-old, Dawn Ashworth, from nearby Enderby, was found in almost identical circumstances in a wooded area, less than a mile from the scene of Lynda's murder. The dead girl had been taking a shortcut home from school instead of her usual route, but there can be little doubt that her assailant, believing he had 'got away with it' once, was on the look-out for other teenagers to assault, terrorise and murder in the same way. Initially, a local man confessed to the second murder and his blood was found to be the same group as blood found at the scene. There can be no doubt that had it not been for advances in science, he would have been convicted while Colin Pitchfork remained free. However, two years later, semen samples found at the crime scenes were used to match the DNA of Pitchfork, a baker and convicted flasher. He became the first criminal in the world to be convicted based on DNA fingerprinting, following the first mass screening of 5,000 men in three neighbouring villages.
highlights: Colin Pitchfork raped and murdered two 15-year-old girls in the 1980s .
  He was jailed for life two years after second murder thanks to DNA testing .
  Pitchfork was the first man to be convicted based on DNA evidence .
  The Parole Board are reviewing his case and he could be freed in months .
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