A killer who abducted, raped and murdered a young wife whilst on bail for a horrific sex attack has been blocked from moving to an open prison under tough new parole laws.
Andrew Hagans, now 57, was jailed for life in 1992 for murdering Anna McGurk after snatching her at knifepoint in a shocking case that revealed gaps in the bail system that allowed suspected serious offenders to be out on the street.
Hagans had been staying at a Gloucester bail hostel after being arrested on suspicion of raping another woman.
The fallout from the case led Anna’s mother Kay Potts to launch a campaign that eventually led to a change in the law governing who can be granted bail.
Hagans has spent 31 years behind bars and has been refused parole on eight previous occasions.
Anna McGurk (pictured) was snatched at knifepoint before she was raped and murdered by Andrew Hagans
He went before a Parole Board for a ninth time in June last year and was told in January that his bid to be released had been rejected, but he had been recommended for a move to an open prison.
The transfer from closed conditions to a low-risk Category D prison is a step that could eventually lead to him being freed.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said in January: ‘The Parole Board refused the release of Andrew Hagans but recommended a move to an open conditions prison following an oral hearing in November 2022.’
MailOnline understands that the then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, in one of his last interventions before he resigned on April 21 2023, blocked the move.
Under revised parole laws introduced last year, the Minister has the right to intervene to stop a prisoner being moved from closed conditions to an open jail.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed to MailOnline Mr Raab’s then department stepped in sometime in ‘February’ to prevent Hagans being moved and having his security status downgraded.
Despite the move, MailOnline understands the review process required for Hagans’ tenth parole hearing is already underway and written reports on him are due by June 29.
These will include his prison files, psychiatrist reports and the assessments of key prison officers who deal with Hagans on a daily basis.
Andrew Hagans (pictured) now 57, was jailed for life in 1992 for murdering Anna McGurk. He had been on the bail for an horrific sex attack at the time of the killing
If positive, it is likely the killer will be granted a new oral hearing in the autumn. Again, he will seek to be released or moved to an open jail.
Hagans has previously claimed that he is a changed person and is no longer a danger to society.
The move has angered Anna’s sister Helen Potts. 57, who believes Hagans has ‘played the system’ by completing accredited sex offender programmes and pretending to be a changed man.
She revealed that in 2021 the Parole Board had also recommended that Hagans be moved to an open prison, but this was overturned by the Justice Minister.
Helen, a secretary in the NHS, said: ‘It’s relentless, with Hagans trying to be freed or getting a move to an open jail. It’s a continual rollercoaster of emotional torment.
‘Hagans has never shown any remorse for what he did and I believe him to be still an angry person. I fear for any woman if he’s allowed to go to an open prison and is allowed day release.’
The horrific murder of Anna sparked revulsion but also anger as it emerged at his trial that Hagans had been arrested for the rape of a 20-year-old woman just 24 days before her death.
He also had a long history of violent crime and had been imprisoned for burglary.
Despite this, Hagans had been given bail by a magistrate just 24 hours before he attacked Anna on August 28, 1991.
Bristol Crown Court was told the killer had been locked up in Gloucester prison, which overlooks the council office where Anna worked.
The violent offender had been staying at nearby Ryecroft bail hostel.
Hagans, then 28, lay in wait for the officer supervisor, abducted her and made her perform indecent acts before raping her.
During her ordeal, a colleague spotted Anna with Hagans, but didn’t intervene, believing it to be innocent.
Anna’s body was found partly concealed by earth and bracken, on rough ground near Gloucester docks.
Hagans had been given bail by a magistrate just 24 hours before he attacked Anna on August 28, 1991. Pictured is Anna
The police soon arrested Hagans, who at first denied having anything to do with Anna’s death, even though he was seen wearing her necklace and had tried to sell her wedding ring to a fellow hostel-dweller for £10.
But, after questioning, he broke down and confessed.
Hagans was sentenced to a minimum term of 15 years in jail.
At the trial, Anna’s 23-year-old husband, Brian, told the jury he and his wife of less than a year had been childhood sweethearts. He described their marriage as ‘very good.’
‘We planned to have children and we were trying at the time she was murdered,’ he added.
Helen, who still lives in Gloucester, said the family had launched a desperate search for Anna after she failed to come home, despite a lukewarm initial reaction from police.
She told MailOnline: ‘When Anna didn’t come home Brian rang us and as the hour passed we became more frantic. We rang the police but initially they weren’t that alarmed.
‘But the family and her friends were, so we organised a search party and went to her place of work and began looking for her. We had to finish when it got dark.’
Helen says the police joined the hunt the next day. She recalls sitting in Anna’s chair in her council office when the call came that a body had been found.
Helen told MailOnline that Anna’s body was found by a friend of her husband Brian.
The family – Helen, father James and mother Kay – sat through the trial. Helen says she is still haunted by the testimony.
Anna’s body was found partly concealed by earth and bracken, on rough ground near Gloucester docks
She said: ‘Things said still haunt me. He told Anna ‘if you do everything I say I will let you live.’ But he still killed her.
‘He then sat by her body and smoked two of her cigarettes. The police found the stubs with his saliva on them.’
‘There are no words to describe how I felt or still feel. Our family has been totally broken and has a different life because of the murder.’
Helen, who has a daughter aged 30 and a son, 23, says she is heartbroken they never got to meet their auntie.
She revealed that the family share stories of Anna to keep her memory alive and that they fear their continuing trauma will be lost on the Parole Board when they come to make a new decision on Hagans.
Helen said: ‘Anna was just a beautiful person. A lovely and caring person. We were very close as there was only two years and eight months between us.
‘We did everything together. We always went for nights out together and were always at each other’s houses. She was very family oriented.’
She added: ‘I believe that Hagans is still a danger to women and if he was to be transferred to an open prison there is a strong chance he would abscond.
‘I hope that common sense prevails and that he will not be released.’
At the time of Hagans’ sentencing in June 1992, Anna’s mother Kay Potts said outside court: ‘Magistrates are imbeciles. Why did they give him bail?’
Following a campaign by Mrs Potts, backed by Michael Stephen, the then MP for Shoreham, the Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 came into force, changing English law.
The police and Crown Prosecution Service can now challenge a decision by magistrates to grant bail to an alleged offender.
Mrs Potts said, after the law change: ‘I do feel I’ve achieved something by helping to get the bail law changed.
‘It’s helped me as well. Without positive things to do, I don’t think I could have coped.
‘It won’t bring Anna back, but it might prevent some other poor girl suffering the same fate.’
Mrs Potts died in October 2018. Her husband James is still alive.
Her daughter Helen added: ‘I think I speak for my family when we say that Hagans should rot in prison.’
DailyMail
