THE father of murdered schoolgirl Lesley Molseed has spoken of his shock at learning convicted killer Ronald Castree is to make a final bid for freedom.

Castree, formerly of Brandon Crescent, Shaw, was jailed for life in November 2007 and told he must serve a minimum of 30 years for the murder of the 11-year-old in 1975.

As the Advertiser reported in May, an initial attempt to challenge the conviction was rejected by judges.  But on July 29, at the Appeal Court in Leeds, Castree is set to apply again for leave to appeal, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.

On the same day he will also fight to reduce the length of his sentence.

Lesley’s father, Fred Anderson, said the news was ‘expected but it still came as a shock’.

The 77-year-old, who lives in Rochdale, added: "We thought the guilty verdict was final.  It has been 33 years since Lesley was murdered and it was just a relief to get it all done and dusted, but now we are going to have to go back through it all again."

Mr Anderson added: "It has knocked me and the family for six. We are all really upset. All the way through the trial Castree was adamant he didn’t do it, but we are convinced the conviction is going to stand."

It is believed Castree’s legal team will argue against the safety of the DNA evidence. Speaking in May as he was preparing the bid, solicitor Riyaz Shaikh said: "This is not a knee-jerk reaction. We feel we have an arguable case."

Castree, 54, was sentenced following a 12-day trial at Bradford Crown Court. His conviction marked the end of one of the worst miscarriages of justices in British legal history.

Lesley vanished on October 5, 1975, after leaving her home in Delamere Avenue, Turf Hill, to run an errand to the shops for her mum. Castree forced her into his car before driving to a lay-by off the Oldham-to-Ripponden Road.

The former comic book dealer then took her to Rishworth Moor where he sexually assaulted her and stabbed her 12 times. Her body was found three days later. But the former taxi-driver escaped justice for more than 30 years after Stefan Kiszko was wrongly convicted of the murder.

Mr Kiszko, described as a ‘gentle giant’, was jailed following a false confession he said police had bullied him into.

He served 16 years in prison before being freed on appeal after a fresh police investigation revealed he could not have produced the semen left on the girl’s clothes.

Kiszko died, aged 41, in December, 1993.

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