THE FACE OF EVIL: Swastika-Carving Monster Who Stabbed Young Woman 60 Times CLEARED For Release After ‘Sexual Fantasy’ Journals Found In Cell

The mother of Joanne Tulip says she is “disgusted” as the Parole Board rules that sadistic killer Steven Ling no longer poses an “imminent” risk to women.

In a decision that has sparked a national outcry and sent shockwaves through the heart of the British justice system, one of the country’s most depraved killers is set to walk free.

Steven Ling, the monster who brutally raped and murdered 29-year-old hairdresser Joanne Tulip on Christmas Day 1997, has been cleared for release by the Parole Board. The decision comes despite the fact that Ling—who carved swastikas into his victim’s flesh during a prolonged, sadistic attack—was recently found to be recording his dark sexual fantasies in a journal behind bars.

A Christmas Day Nightmare

The details of the 1998 trial still haunt the North East. Joanne Tulip had been enjoying a festive night out when she crossed paths with Ling, then 23. What followed was a crime of such “unadulterated evil” that it left veteran police officers traumatized.

Joanne was murdered on Christmas Day, 1997(Image: PA)

Ling didn’t just kill Joanne; he subjected her to a horrific ordeal of sexual violence and mutilation. He stabbed her a staggering 60 times and used a blade to mark her body with Nazi insignia—a chilling signature of his twisted state of mind.

At his sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court, Mr. Justice Potts was unequivocal. Labeling Ling a “danger to women,” the judge told him:

“You inflicted appalling injuries while you were having sexual relations with her… there was in your motivation an aspiration of sadism. You will never be released so long as it is thought you constitute a danger.”

Yet, nearly three decades later, those words appear to have been forgotten by the authorities.

‘Disgusted and Betrayed’

For Joanne’s mother, Doreen Soulsby, the news is a “betrayal” of the highest order. For years, the tireless campaigner has fought to keep her daughter’s killer caged. In 2022, she even successfully lobbied then-Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to block Ling’s move to an open prison—the first time such a ministerial power was ever used.

But today, she faces the nightmare she always feared. Speaking from her home in Wall, Northumberland, a devastated Ms. Soulsby said:

“I’m absolutely appalled and disgusted. That man committed horrific offences against my daughter and yet is deemed to not be a high risk. It’s outrageous.”

Joanne and her mother Doreen

Ms. Soulsby raised a terrifying alarm regarding Ling’s behavior in prison, revealing that the “reformed” killer has been conducting sexual acts and writing out sexual fantasies in a private journal.

“The offender was 23 when he committed his first offence and is now only 49,” she warned. “He has missed all his young adult life socialising with women. I fear the first thing he will do when he gets out is try to socialise with women again. I strongly believe this man will reoffend.”

The Parole Board’s ‘Baffling’ Logic

The decision to release Ling rested on the testimony of two psychologists who claimed his risk was now “manageable in the community.” One expert remarkably stated that the danger Ling posed was “not imminent,” leading the panel to conclude that “imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.”

In a legal quirk that has long caused fury, Ling is not technically a convicted sex offender. While he admitted to the rape, the charge was “left on file” during his 1998 murder trial. However, the Parole Board’s own report acknowledges: “Mr. Ling has always accepted that he raped the victim.”

Doreen Soulsby, from Wall, near Hexham, whose daughter Joanne Tulip was brutally murdered by Steven Ling on Christmas Day 1997(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

If he is released, Ling will be subject to a series of conditions, including:

• A strict curfew and electronic monitoring.

• An exclusion zone to prevent him from approaching Joanne’s family.

• A mandatory requirement to inform authorities of any new relationships he develops.

A Test for the Justice Secretary

The recommendation now sits on the desk of the Justice Secretary. With the government publicly committed to halving violence against women and girls, many are asking how releasing a known sadist aligns with that promise.

“If the Justice Secretary does not take action, there will be public outcry,” Ms. Soulsby added. “Confidence in the justice system will be severely damaged and will never be restored.”

As the clock ticks down toward Ling’s potential release, a community remains on high alert, and a mother continues her lonely vigil for justice—praying that the man who carved hate into her daughter’s skin is never given the chance to do it again.