Notorious ‘Essex Boys' triple killer released from jail after 29 years as bid to keep him locked up fails
TRIPLE 'Essex Boys' killer Michael Steele has been freed after a failed bid to keep him in jail.
Steele, now 82, was released to an undisclosed location last month following a 21-month parole battle.
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Triple 'Essex Boys' killer Michael Steele has been released from prison
Credit: PA
He has never admitted the 1995 murders of drug dealers Pat Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26, on a remote farm track at Rettendon.
In February the Parole Board deemed him fit to be freed after nearly 29 years in a category-A jail.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood put his release on hold with a reconsideration application which was dismissed last month.
Steele's supporters have now vowed to 'prove conclusively' he is not guilty.
He is unlikely to speak publicly as his release comes with strict licence conditions, including a ban on giving media interviews.
The Ministry of Justice said: 'He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules.'
Steele and co-defendant Jack Whomes were convicted of the three murders — which have spawned several movies — at the Old Bailey in 1998.
They got life with a minimum of 23 years.
Whomes was released in 2021.
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