Police have launched a manhunt for a convicted murderer who has escaped from prison for a second time.
Lee Nevins, 39, is currently serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of murdering a disabled man while high on alcohol and drugs.
He brutally battered Lee Jobling, 20, in his own home in an unprovoked attack on April 8, 2006.
Nevins was jailed for life but just two years later he escaped after going to hospital with an injured hand.
He went on the run for several weeks before he was finally caught in Scotland.
Later an investigation was highly critical of bungling prison staff who let him go.
Police have now launched a second manhunt after he absconded from HMP Sudbury open prison.
Nevins – who has a string of convictions for other violent attacks – was on temporary licence but failed to return to the category D prison in Derbyshire on Tuesday.
Derbyshire Police say he has links to Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, and Northumberland.
He is described as white, of slim build, around 6ft tall with short blonde hair and blue eyes.
He also has a tattoo of a Tasmanian Devil on his arm.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘HMP Sudbury is working with police to recapture Lee Nevins quickly and on capture he faces longer behind bars.’
Mr Jobling’s mum Angela Knotts has blasted officials for allowing Nevins to escape for a second time and said his escape brought back the agony of her son’s murder.
Nevins killed Mr Jobling after gate-crashing a party he was having for friends at his home in Gateshead.
Nevins, along with his accomplice Mark Lang, forced their way into Mr Jobling’s flat where they mocked him for being disabled.
The pair then launched a frenzied attack on Mr Jobling who collapsed after being repeatedly punched and kicked in the head.
Nevins and Lang fled the scene leaving Mr Jobling lying unconscious and in a pool of blood in his flat.
Paramedics were called and rushed him to hospital but he died of his injuries three weeks later.
At his trial, which was held at Newcastle Crown Court in November 2006, Nevins was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars.
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