Daniel Lynch, the man convicted of orchestrating the acid attack on model and TV presenter Katie Piper, may be eligible for parole next month. Lynch was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 with a minimum term of 16 years for arranging for Stefan Sylvestre to throw sulphuric acid at Piper's face in March 2008, leaving her blind in one eye.
The Parole Board has scheduled a private hearing for Lynch on 23 and 24 July. A spokesperson confirmed that a parole hearing is granted when there is a 'realistic prospect' of release or to consider a move to an open prison. Victims can submit personal statements, and the decision can be challenged.
Lynch, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, was described as obsessively jealous after briefly dating Piper. The attack left Piper with severe injuries and permanent scarring, requiring hundreds of surgeries. Judge Nicholas Browne KC called the act 'pure, calculated and deliberate evil'.
Sylvestre, who threw the acid, was also given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years. He was released on licence in 2018 but recalled to prison in 2022 for breaching his licence conditions, with police issuing an arrest warrant after he was thought to have left the UK.
Piper, now 40, waived her anonymity as a rape victim after the trial and founded the Katie Piper Foundation to support burns victims. In her victim impact statement, she described the attack as 'worse than death', saying, 'When the acid was thrown at me, it felt like I was burning in hell.'
