A grieving mother is preparing for a final, agonising confrontation with the man who murdered and dismembered her teenage son nearly three decades ago, as she fights to keep him behind bars. Jean Hartley, 74, will give evidence at a parole hearing this month, arguing that Stuart Diamond must never be freed because he has never disclosed what he did with her son's head.
A Brutal Crime and a Family Torn Apart
Christopher Hartley was just 17 years old when his life was brutally ended on 30 December 1997. Having moved to Blackpool for seasonal work, Christopher found himself homeless after his sister's landlord asked him to leave. That night, Stuart Diamond, a stranger with a history of violence, offered him a place to stay.
Diamond lured the vulnerable teenager back to his bedsit, where he strangled and smothered him. In a shared bathroom, he then dismembered Christopher's body. The headless remains were discovered in a bin behind the New Central Hotel in Blackpool and in a discarded sports bag just before New Year's Day. Despite extensive searches, Christopher's head has never been found.
"Our family was ripped to shreds," Jean Hartley, from Liverpool, said. The trauma of Christopher's horrific death proved too much for two of her daughters. One died on Christopher's birthday the year after the murder, and the second passed away on the anniversary of his death in 2024. Jean firmly believes Diamond is responsible for their deaths too.
A Dangerous Offender and a Mother's Dread
Stuart Diamond was convicted of murder in 1999. The court heard chilling evidence, including his fingerprint in Christopher's blood. It was revealed he had been released on licence only weeks before the killing, following an earlier conviction where a psychiatric report noted he fantasised about murder. The sentencing judge declared him "a very dangerous young man" and doubted he would ever be safe for release.
Now detained under the Mental Health Act, Diamond is subject to a parole review on 22 January 2026. Jean Hartley lives in constant fear, knowing he has been allowed out on day releases. "The police have given me a panic alarm because I am terrified he will come for me," she said. "The only thing keeping me alive is my determination to make sure Diamond is never freed."
The Unanswered Question at the Heart of Parole
For Jean, the central reason Diamond must remain incarcerated is his continued refusal to give her son dignity in death. "How can he be fit for release when he still has not told me where my son's head is?" she asked. "Sometimes he says he threw it into the sea. Other times, he says he didn't. What kind of monster would torture a grieving mother in that way?"
Despite poor health, she is determined to attend the hearing in person. "I'm a pensioner, and I am in poor health, but I will make sure I am at the hearing to speak up for my son and to make the world a safer place," she stated.
A Parole Board spokesperson confirmed the hearing, stating its decisions are "solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released." The panel will examine a vast range of evidence, including victim impact statements. Jean Hartley's testimony will be a powerful reminder of the enduring harm caused and the one question that, after 30 years, remains painfully unanswered.
