Families of murdered teenagers renew calls to keep killer behind bars

The families of two teenagers who were murdered over 20 years ago on the Isle of Man are renewing a call to keep their killer behind bars.

Sixteen-year-olds Samantha Barton and George Green were killed in 2002 by abattoir worker Peter Newbery.

The then 23-year-old was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 20 years, two years later.

He was incarcerated at a high security prison in the UK until 2020 when he was returned to the Isle of Man.

After two decades behind bars Newbery applied for parole and his application was heard by the Isle of Man Parole Committee in 2023; it was unsuccessful.

You can find out more HERE.

It’s understood he’ll undergo another parole hearing in March – something which has sparked an online petition calling for his release to be blocked.

You can find the petition HERE.

“As a family we are turned upside down, right back to 2002, Isle of Man Government needs to take onboard exactly what this has done to two families - not one.” - Linda Barton

Shirley Klieve is George’s sister:

(Picture: Samantha Barton, supplied by her family)

Her sentiments are echoed by Linda Barton – the aunt of Samantha Barton – who is also calling for Newbery’s sentence to be revisited:

In response, the Department of Home Affairs says it would not comment on individual cases however victim liaison officers, alongside Victim Support, work with the named contacts within families to keep them informed of any changes or progress regarding defendants during both ongoing cases and after sentencing.

"Since 2021 the Prison have delivered in-house interventions led by a chartered forensic psychologist with significant experience of engaging with life prisoners and violent and sexual offending."

In response to the Barton family's petition with the hopes of having Mr Newbery's initial sentence revisited, the department says: "There is a process for appealing custodial sentences that are viewed as being unduly lenient, the provisions for this are laid out in the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1993. 

"However, applications for this appeal must be made within the first 28 days after an original sentence. 

"The Department must always act within the confines of the law and ensure any decision it makes is seen as reasonable under any future legal scrutiny."

You can listen to the full interviews with Shirley and Linda in this episode of NEWSCAST: