Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Anonymously, anyone with information in Spain can call Crimestoppers on 900 926 11 to provide their information.
A HEFTY €12,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of a British double killer who may be hiding among expats on the Costa del Sol.
Kevin Thomas Parle has been hiding for more than 20 years since he shot and killed two people in Liverpool. Recently, he was linked to the double murder of Estepona.
The Olive Press reported on Parle’s manhunt over the past few years. According to sources, the 6ft6in (198cm), fugitive worked as muscle for drug smugglers in Puerto Banus of Marbella until as late as 2022.
Police sources confirmed that Parle had teamed up with Manchester gangs operating from a warehouse where drugs were hidden between pallets of snacks and crisps.
READ MORE Exclusive: Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley speaks to Olive Press on his hunt for Kevin Parle, his BBC podcast and his search in Spain.
Crime-fighting organisation Crimestoppers this week announced the £10,000 bounty for the man nicknamed ‘Hemp’, who is considered extremely dangerous.
The privately-educated Liverpudlian – described as white with a stocky build, ginger hair, blue eyes and a distinctive scar on the left side of his head – remains one of Britain’s most elusive fugitives.
He has remained one step ahead of law enforcement despite years of high profile manhunts. This included billboards with his picture being displayed around Spain. Cash rewards were also offered, and he was featured in podcasts about true crimes.
READ MORE INTERVIEW: Former Met detective Peter Bleksley gives insights into the manhunt for Kevin Parle. The UK’s most-wanted fugitive is believed to be hiding on Spain’s Costa del Sol
The fugitive first struck in June 2004 when he allegedly executed 16-year-old Liam Kelly over a measly £200 debt.
A shotgun with two barrels was fired at the teenager as he emerged from a car parked on Grafton Street.
Parle allegedly struck a second time in a horrifying home invasion fourteen months later. Three masked men broke into the house of Lucy Hargreaves, 22, and shot her to death as she slept. They then set fire to the home.
The police believe that the killers were really hunting for her lover, who was in a stolen vehicle in 1993 when a 4-year-old boy was killed.
Lucy’s elder brother and another person were tried later for her murder, but both walked away free because of lack of evidence.
Parle was initially arrested over the first killing but released on bail – and hasn’t been seen since.
British authorities suspect that he might have found a hiding spot amongst thousands of UK ex-pats in Spain on the Costa del Sol. He could blend in easily and unnoticed.
READ MORE Murder inquiry opened into British father and son who vanished from Spain’s Costa del Sol in 2019 after ‘botched’ drug deal
The fugitive has been ‘spotted’ everywhere from the Costa Brava to the Canary Islands, and across Europe and Asia, but none of the sightings have been confirmed.
The most chilling part is that those who protect Parle are linked to the disappearance in Estepona of Danny and Liam Poole (aged 46 and 22), a British father-son duo. British police have classified the case as double murder.
The pair disappeared in April 2019 after travelling to Costa del Sol town with a suitcase containing €23,000 in cash for a drugs deal.
They were known to have stayed at the upmarket Valle Romano Golf and Resort – they were last seen alive on April 2.
Spanish media first reported about the manhunt in 2011 when detectives thought two other high profile British fugitives might be hiding on Malaga’s coast with Parle’s help.
UK authorities believed Kirk Bradley (25), and Anthony Downes (24), fled to Malaga Province as their ideal hideout following a spectacular jailbreak on July 11, 2011. Investigators suspected Bradley’s relationship with Parle, a close friend of Downes was a factor in their escape.
Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously in Spain by calling 900 926111.
Click here to read more Crime & Law News from The Olive Press.
