The sister of a woman murdered and dismembered by Martin Bell has warned he will kill again if released from prison. Bell, 57, is awaiting a decision this week on whether he can leave jail after serving 12 years for the manslaughter of 23-year-old Gemma Simpson.
Family fears for public safety
Gemma's sister, Naomi Carrick, from Otley, West Yorkshire, said she believes Bell remains a danger. 'I honestly believe it could happen again. It terrifies me to think of how many people we've got walking around in society like that – just so they can free up spaces in prison,' she said. 'He is capable of stabbing, hammering and dismembering someone – and then moving on with his life for 14 years.'
Bell attacked Gemma at his flat in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, in May 2000, shortly after being released from a psychiatric hospital. He struck her with a hammer and stabbed her in the back and the back of the head. Realising she was still alive, he dragged her into the bathroom and left her face-down in the bath for several days. He later dismembered her body and buried her remains at Brimham Rocks, a National Trust beauty spot near Pateley Bridge.
14 years of silence
For 14 years, Bell said nothing while Gemma, from Leeds, was treated as a missing person. He moved to Scarborough and worked as a taxi driver, living what Naomi described as a completely ordinary life. 'In all honesty, we feel like we've been failed from the very beginning. From the moment he was charged with manslaughter rather than murder, we knew he was never going to do any significant time,' she said. 'He has literally done the bare minimum. It offers no justice to Gemma or our family. He gets to move on with his life – and Gemma is still dead.'
In July 2014, Bell walked into a police station in Scarborough, confessed to killing Gemma and told officers where he had buried her. A psychiatric assessment after his arrest diagnosed him with a psychotic mental illness. Leeds Crown Court heard Bell had told Gemma that God wanted him to kill her. He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014, with a minimum term of 12 years, reduced to 11 years and 205 days for time already served.
Parole board decision pending
The Parole Board recommended in 2025 that Bell be moved from a closed jail into open conditions ahead of his eligibility for release. Naomi wrote what she called a 'pleading letter' to then Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, urging her to prevent the transfer. 'I don't think someone capable of such a heinous, horrific crime should be in open conditions – it just sounds ludicrous to me,' she added.
Naomi said she and her family have been left in the dark about Bell's current mental state, his progress, and why he is being considered safe for release. She was warned that Bell could be allowed day release after entering open conditions, and fears encountering him because she lives around 10 miles from Harrogate, where the killing took place. Naomi was 26 when Gemma disappeared, and her sister's remains were concealed for longer than Bell has so far spent behind bars.
The Parole Board said its decisions focus on whether a prisoner would pose a risk to the public if released and whether that risk could be managed in the community. Its panel considers evidence including the original offence, the prisoner's conduct and reports from probation officers, prison staff, psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as victim personal statements.
