Convicted Murderer Extradited To Kent

7 April 2011, 16:18 | Updated: 7 April 2011, 16:23

A man who murdered his 19 year old girlfriend in Humberside and then committed an offence while on licence, has been extradited back to the UK and is currently in custody after being tracked down by police in Spain.

40 year old Raymond Gunnell, previously of St Luke’s Road, Maidstone, was brought up in Grimsby, where he also committed the murder of his girlfriend, Alison Newland, in 1990 who he stabbed 11 times in a jealous rage, while her baby daughter was just metres away.

He served 9yrs of his life sentence and was released on a life licence in December 1999 to a bail hostel in Kent. He continued to live in the surrounding area until 2001 when it is believed he committed an unprovoked attack on a man in an incident in a pub in Maidstone, after which he fled to Spain.
 
He was finally caught after he was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch and police learnt that he was living in Spain. A European arrest warrant was obtained and he was arrested by authorities there two weeks ago. A specialist team of officers from Kent Police brought him back to the UK last night (6 April) via Heathrow to Maidstone Police Station. He will now be returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence for the murder.

Detective Sergeant Rob Cox comments: “I hope that family of Alison Newland can find some comfort now that Gunnell has been jailed and severe restrictions placed on him for the rest of his life.

‘The Offender Management Unit works closely with probation on cases such as these to track down those who are unlawfully at large and it is satisfying to see positive conclusion to this protracted enquiry.”
 
`I would also like to thank the Spanish authorities, the Serious And Organised Crime Agency, Interpol and the Crown Prosecution Service for assisting us with the extradition process.
 
`I hope this sends out a clear message to those who have committed crimes and then attempt to flee justice that there is nowhere to hide.”