Australia deports British killer who decapitated teenage victim back to UK
18 June 2020, 23:26
Australia deports British murderer back to UK
A British man who was jailed in Australia for a teen's brutal murder has been deported back to the UK after being released on parole.
Christopher Clark Jones, 36, was convicted in 2007 of murdering 17-year-old Morgan Shepherd after a drunken argument at a home in Brisbane.
He was given a life sentence for the killing, but has been released on parole 15 years into his sentence.
In a trial that shocked Australia, a court heard the homeless teenager was attacked by Jones and a mutual friend, James Roughan, and was stabbed 133 times before being decapitated.
His body was found in a shallow grave in bushland north of Brisbane in April 2005.
Jones was released on parole earlier this month and was removed from Australia this week on a private jet chartered by the Australian Border Force (ABF), along with seven other males deported back to Britain.
Jones emigrated to Australia when he was a young child with his parents.
Had Jones remained, he would have been on parole for life, which would have involved regular surveillance from police.
Since he has been deported, however, he will only be placed on an offenders register in the UK, according to Australian media reports.
With Jones having never applied for Australian citizenship, his visa was cancelled before his parole by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, on character grounds.
"This particularly abhorrent case is one that shocked the Queensland community when it occurred," ABF acting commander for enforcement command Dean Church said in a statement.
"Non-citizens who commit crimes have no right to remain in Australia, and will be removed from the country as soon as possible.
"The Australian Government is responsible for protecting the community from the risk of harm arising from foreign nationals who choose to engage in criminal activity, and as such Mr Jones' visa was cancelled under (section) 501 of the Migration Act."
Mr Dutton told Australia's Channel Nine the killing was "one of the most vicious murders Queensland has ever seen".
"As a UK citizen, he didn't deserve to stay in our country," Mr Dutton said.
Roughan was also jailed for life at the 2007 trial.
