Vampire-obsessed murderer Mathew Hardman's conviction reviewed

A vampire-obsessed killer found guilty of murdering a woman will have his conviction reviewed.

Mathew Hardman was 17 when he stabbed Mabel Leyshon in her home.

He always denied murdering the 90-year-old but lost an attempt to appeal against his conviction in 2003.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates miscarriages of justice, has confirmed it is reviewing the conviction.

Warning: Article contains details some readers may find distressing

It was one of the most notorious murders in Wales this century, and described as "the most callous and brutal ever" by North Wales Police.

Mrs Leyshon's body was found on 25 November 2001, when a meals-on-wheels volunteer visited her home at Lon Pant in Llanfairpwll, Anglesey.

The widow was described as active and independent, and had been watching television in her favourite armchair the day before.

But with the sound turned up because of a hearing impairment, it meant that she was unaware Hardman - an art student from Llanfairpwll - had broken in through a lower window in her back door.

His murder trial at Mold Crown Court in 2002 heard that he stabbed her 22 times, then moved her body to another chair and placed two pokers in the shape of a cross at her feet.

Hardman removed her heart and put it in a saucepan wrapped in newspaper, placing the saucepan on a silver platter in a "macabre ritual".

He then drained blood from Mrs Leyshon's leg into the same saucepan and drank from it.

The 14-day trial heard Hardman had been Mrs Leyshon's paper boy, and was fascinated by vampires and wanted to become one in a quest for immortality.

The trial also heard that police found evidence reflecting his interest in vampires and the occult, including specialist magazines and online browsing of websites such as Vampire/Donor Alliance and The Vampire Rights Movement.

Two months before the murder, he had also begged a German exchange student to bite his neck in the belief she was a vampire and could transform him.

Hardman was found guilty after the jury was told DNA found at the murder scene matched blood found on a knife at his home.

His shoes also matched footprints found at Mrs Leyshon's home.

Hardman was sentenced to life in prison in August 2002, with a minimum term of 12 years, but continued to maintain that he was innocent.

He applied for permission to appeal his conviction in 2003, but this was refused.

An application to be released on parole in 2014 was also turned down.

But a new application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, is now being reviewed.

The CCRC said: "An application has been received related to this case and a review is under way. It would be inappropriate for us to make further comment while this is taking place."

It was also unable to say how long the review would take.