New justice hope for Luke Walker

Murder suspect Luke Walker was today a step closer to freedom after the charge against him was changed to death by actual bodily harm.

Walker, 22, of Brierley Hill, was accused of beating his girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman, 20, to death after she suffered ruptured internal organs.

The pair were based in Crete while they were searching for work in Malia.

He was released on bail in October after spending five months behind bars. And his father Patrick today revealed prosecutors had decided to reduce the charge against him, from murder to death by actual bodily harm.

The change means even if convicted, Walker would probably only spend a few months behind bars rather than being given a life sentence, his father said.

"They still think he did it, but now think it was probably an accident that happened during an argument instead of pre-meditated murder," he said.

"We are still working on getting the charges dropped altogether and clearing his name, but this is a good step in the right direction."

Mr Walker will be returning to the Greek island next week so his wife Lindy can fly home and return to her job as a care assistant, which her employers have left open for her since Walker was arrested in May. Mr Walker said they would be appealing to the courts to lift bail conditions forbidding his son to leave Greece.

"We just want to get him home and return to some kind of normality," he said.

"Our family has been split for six months, and it has placed a huge financial burden on us." In September, the family had to remortgage their Brierley Hill home to help finance legal fees and living costs in Crete.

Miss Hyndman, from Castleford, in Yorkshire, died while in intensive care in May after being admitted to hospital suffering from abdominal pain.