Mum’s fury as sadistic killer, 49, who stabbed hairdresser 60 times & carved swastikas on her body is released from jail
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A MUM has called the release of a sadistic killer a "grave error" after he brutally stabbed and murdered her daughter. Vile farm worker Steven Ling savagely killed Joanne Tulip, 29, at his home on Christmas Day in 1997. Ling, now 49, carved swastikas and crosses on his victim's lifeless body after stabbing her 60 times.
![[Woman holding framed photo of her murdered daughter.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/aeb7207f-47dd-47a7-803b-ccff4372a8e7.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He was locked up for life and ordered to spend at least 18 years in prison. But on Wednesday, 22 January he was released after it was considered he no longer posed a risk. Joanne's mum said she feels "deeply shaken", calling the decision "devastating" and a "grave error".
![[Photo of Steven Ling, released from prison after serving almost 30 years for rape and murder.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/96688e04-1317-4fda-93ef-477b22194709.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
She told The Telegraph she is terrified for the safety of women. Doreen Soulsby had been fighting for 26 years to keep Ling behind bars. In 2022, she blocked his attempt to move to an open prison, where inmates enjoy less security and are often not locked up in cells.
![[Photo of Joanne Doreen Soulsby holding a puppy; she fears for women's safety after her daughter's killer was released from prison.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/8e427a9f-b711-4f6d-b97e-7380b6b8621c.jpg?strip=all&w=628)
The decision follows a parole hearing last year, where Doreen had requested it be held in public. But Ling has "refused to take part" in the review because of "his distress at the thought of a public hearing", according to parole documents. A prison psychologist said the prospect of giving evidence in public about his wicked crimes is "triggering experiences of internalised shame".
![[Photo of Doreen Soulsby.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/doreen-soulsby-pa-wire-note-931520896.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
He also claimed to be suffering poor mental health, The Sun revealed. Doreen said Ling was using excuses to avoid having to appear in public. Usually parole board hearings are held in private away from bereaved families and the glare of the press. Doreen, of Wall, Northumberland, said: "The main reason I fought for a public hearing was to see and hear Ling - and now I may not even get that.
![[A woman expresses concern for women's safety following the release of her daughter's killer.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/26fed08b-7f43-4af8-bd26-6b961dcbcbcc.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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