Kevin Parle: Manhunt for one of UK's most wanted fugitives switches to Australia

Police receive 'credible information' 35-year-old wanted in connection with two murders is living in Perth

Kevin Parle is wanted for questioning over two murders in Liverpool (Image courtesy of Merseyside Police)

A manhunt for one of the UK’s most wanted fugitives has switched to Australia. Kevin Parle, who is wanted for questioning in connection with two murders, has been on the run for more than a decade.

Now police are investigating claims he has been living in Perth, western Australia.

Merseyside police, who want to question Parle, 35, for the murder of 16-year-old Liam Kelly shot dead in a Liverpool street in June 2004 as well as the murder of young mother Lucy Hargreaves, 22, who was shot dead at her home in the city a year later. Ms Hargreaves murder was later described by police as “one of the most brutal and callous acts seen on Merseyside.”

Detectives believe Parle left the UK on a false passport shortly after she was killed. It is believed he went to Spain where he had contacts on the Costa Blanca. He reportedly lived in the Torrevieja area of Alicante but vanished before Spanish police, acting on a tip-off, could arrest him. A European arrest warrant in his name has been issued.

Now the hunt for him has switched to western Australia after police received “credible information” he had been living in Perth. One witness told Australian police he thinks he had a drink with Parle in a Perth waterfront bar.

In a bid to try and capture Parle, Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued a series of digitally altered images of him together with an appeal for anyone who might have seen him to come forward. But they also have warned the public not to approach Parle if he is spotted, as he is considered highly dangerous.

Merseyside police confirmed they had supplied a number of images to the AFP following a request. The computer-generated images were produced with the help of Liverpool John Moores University and the National Crime Agency to show what Parle might look like now.

The pictures were issued to mark the 10th anniversary of Lucy Hargreaves’ murder last year. A mother of three, Ms Hargreaves was shot at her home in Liverpool’s Walton district. Three masked men who burst into her home are believed to have been looking for her boyfriend Gary Campbell.

They shot Ms Hargreaves after discovering her sleeping beneath a duvet on the downstairs sofa. They then poured petrol around the house and set fire to it despite hearing the cries of one of her young children upstairs. The child only escaped when the victim’s partner jumped to safety from an upstairs window with her.

Two men, Anthony Downes and Kirk Bradley stood trial for Lucy’s murder in 2007. Both were acquitted after being told they had no case to answer following a four-week trial. Both men were subsequently jailed for running what was dubbed a “guns for hire” gang, which attacked criminal rivals in a series of gun and grenade attacks. A third man accused of stealing the vehicle the prosecution said was used to flee the scene was also cleared.

Parle, who was educated at a private school, was on bail having been arrested for the murder of Liam Kelly the previous year.

Police say the teenager was shot in the arm and chest after being approached by two armed men from different directions when he got out of a car. He was shot as he tried to get into a nearby house. He died at the scene.

Parle, who also goes by the name Joseph or nickname Hemp, was arrested for the shooting, but jumped bail. Three other people have also been convicted for the murder and jailed, police said.