The heartbroken mother of a murdered teenager has said she is sickened at the thought she could soon bump into her son’s kiler in the street.

George Green and Samantha Barton were killed in 2002 by Peter Newbery when they were both just 16 years-old.

Newbery, who was jailed for life in 2004 for his brutal crimes, was told he must serve 20 years behind bars before he could be even considered for parole.

Almost two decades have passed since Newbery committed the horrific killings and Mr Green’s family have learned that the murderer’s looming parole hearing is now just days away.

Mr Green’s mother Margaret says that she and her daughters have been told they can’t attend the Newbery’s parole hearing and are now ‘dreading’ the outcome - fearing that they could soon bump into the man who ruined their lives in the street.

She said: ‘We know whatever is decided at the hearing will never bring George back nor ease the pain, but the heartbreak we continue to feel each day has now been joined by an anxiety and a fear that we could soon come face-to-face with the man who killed my son and their brother.

‘This is a small island, we have family members who live across the whole island, and the thought of bumping into someone who murdered him in a most horrific way and then showed not the slightest remorse sickens us to the core.

‘As you can imagine, I am utterly heartbroken.’

Samantha Barton and George Green, both 16 and in care, were stabbed and strangled with a pair of shoelaces at the Leece Lodge halfway house care home in Braddan in February 2002.

Newbery, then a 23 year-old out of work abattoir worker of Willaston Crescent, also sexually assaulted both victims.

He left Samantha’s body at Leece Lodge, while George was found dumped in a field half a mile away.

At the time of the murders, Newbery was out on bail for a similar attack and the two murders sparked a long-running childcare inquiry.

Newbery has been held at Jurby Prison since October 2020, after being transferred there from a UK prison.

Jackie Christian, Mr Green’s sister, said: ‘We fought for justice for George.

‘Yes, we failed in our attempt for Newbery not to return to prison in the island but need to ensure he isn’t released under our noses. Can you begin to imagine how that makes my mum, my sisters and George’s nieces and nephews feel?

‘We will be looking over our shoulders all the time.

‘We continue to hope and pray that justice will prevail and that he won’t be released, and certainly not on the island.’

Kathryn Reeder, another sister of Mr Green, said: ‘Unless you have stood in our shoes, it’s not possible to describe the immeasurable loss that overpowers you as each description of grief appears inadequate and incomplete.

‘Although Peter Newbery will still be a young man when he gets out, the life sentence we feel never goes away.

‘In the case of my younger sisters, what happened in 2002 destroyed their sense of youth and they regularly have flashbacks.’

The Department of Home Affairs said it could not comment on specific cases.

It pointed out that eligibility for parole does not mean automatic release and in the case of prisoners serving a life sentence, there is no automatic release.

A spokesperson for the DHA said: ‘Before being released into our community any Manx prisoners who serve a life term must apply for parole.

‘This is a rigorous process where the parole committee considers a range of information from different sources to determine whether the offender’s risk to the public has reduced.

‘Under our legislation, even if released, all life prisoners will be subject to licence conditions for the rest of their lives. This means if they breach the conditions they may end up back in prison.

‘If the parole committee is satisfied that an offender’s risk to the public is appropriately reduced, they will direct the department to release the offender.

‘In the event of a release, all serious violent and sexual offenders are subject to Manx public protection arrangements, which is a multi-disciplinary team including police, probation, health, mental health and social services and forensic psychologists.

‘This team considers how best to ensure the risk to the public is mitigated through a series of measures and monitoring. This would include the offender being fitted with a GPS tracking tag.’