A daughter whose mother was raped and murdered is facing a lifetime of never knowing where the killer buried her – because it would breach his human rights.
Both Martin Stafford’s prison and the European Union are stopping mother-of-one Tracy Richardson, 30, of Swinton, Greater Manchester, from contacting him.
Stafford, 45, was found guilty and jailed for the murder of Michelle Gunshon and sentenced to life in prison. He was also found guilty of false imprisonment, rape and preventing the burial of a body.
Although the crimes were committed in 2004, Stafford evaded arrest when he fled the country and was only brought to justice in 2012 after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
He was extradited from Ireland, where he had been serving time in jail for rape and false imprisonment. But Stafford has never disclosed where he left the body of Mrs Gunshon.
Ms Richardson told the Sunday Mirror that the unidentified jail would not hand the murderer a letter from her because the governor thought it would be ‘intrusive’ and in breach of his human rights.
She then discovered police cannot ask Stafford where Mrs Gunshon’s body is buried, because he has to give them consent to ask him, according to the terms of his EU extradition from Ireland.
![Martin Stafford was found guilty and jailed for the murder of Michelle Gunshon and sentenced to life in prison](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/12/article-0-1A97C2D600000578-746_306x423.jpg?resize=306%2C423)
![Tracy Richardson's message to her dead mother at The NEC, Birmingham](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/12/article-0-1A97C43100000578-134_306x423.jpg?resize=306%2C423)
Killer: Martin Stafford (left) was found guilty and jailed for the murder of Ms Gunshon and sentenced to life in prison. Ms Richardson left this message (right) outside Birmingham’s NEC, where her mother used to work
![Family: Ms Richardson aged six with her mother Michelle Gunshon and younger brother David as a baby](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/12/article-2538086-1A97C2C400000578-771_634x476.jpg?resize=634%2C476)
Ms Richardson can now only find out where her mother is buried by asking Stafford to tell her in person – but she must get a visitation order in order to do this, and that must be signed by Stafford.
![In memory: Now the only way Ms Richardson can find out the truth is to beg Stafford to tell her in person](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/12/article-2538086-1A97C42800000578-192_306x485.jpg?resize=306%2C485)
‘I’m in total shock,’ she told the newspaper. ‘He should have lost his human rights the second he decided to commit those evil crimes.
‘He’s not a human in my eyes, he’s a monster. All I want is to lay mum to rest and give her the dignity she deserves.
‘But I have no hope of doing that unless someone gets Stafford to admit where she is.’
Mrs Gunshon was aged 38 and working as a security guard at Birmingham’s NEC when she went missing in 2004. Traces of semen and blood were found in her car following her death.
Stafford worked in the Dubliner pub in Digbeth, Birmingham, when he met Mrs Gunshon. He had murdered her before ‘spiriting her body away’ and fleeing the country, a court heard.
He was issued with a European Arrest Warrant and extradited to be charged with her murder after completing a rape sentence in 2012 – but was never asked by police where he put the body, as a condition of this warrant.
Ms Richardson said: ‘They won’t even tell me what prison he’s in. I have no hope any more. It doesn’t make sense – he’s a convicted murderer. Why is everyone protecting him?’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘We are committed to supporting crime victims and are looking into this.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538086/Daughter-mother-murdered-never-know-buried.html#ixzz2qDKzsAdK
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I would “extradite” him straight to Hell!
Their laws are their laws I guess, I do not think it is right but then again, their laws are their laws. When in Rome do as the Romans do or get out. That is what I was always told.
Well Dan what you say is true about laws,its the ones being rammed down our throats here all the time that we have no say over that pisses me off! We are suppose to respect the law but the older I become I only loath it more every day for what it is doing to the citizens of a once great country.Our country has become occupied territory and law enforcement is part of that occupation. As far as the criminal court system goes its just that CRIMINAL,there to protect the real criminals.We are in Rome right now and Rome is burning right before our very eye’s.
Easy solution: Take him to a dark room and caught his balls off and stick them in his mouth. See how fast he’ll talk.