A MAN who served a

15-year life sentence for

murdering his aunt died inside his blazing mobile home with his pet alsatian.

Killer Barry Roy Rutter, 45, was found dead at his home in

Thornley Park, Lyminster Road, Lyminster, between Littlehampton and Arundel, on Sunday night after firefighters tackled a blaze which gutted his home.

Mr Rutter, originally from Birmingham, served a 15-year sentence for murdering his aunt when he was 20.

But he was released in May, 1990, when he married Mary Rutter, whom he met while working at Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital, at Siddlesham, as part of his prison pre-release scheme.

They first met in 1988 and saw each other almost every day at the wildlife hospital until Barry was finally released from Ford Prison.

After his release, the couple set up home in Bognor with Mary's teenage sons Andrew and David, who both have learning difficulties, and continued to work at the wildlife centre until three years ago.

But the couple found it difficult to shake off the stigma of his crime and were featured in a book by Scarlett

McGwire - Women Who Love Men Who Kill - when Mary condemned the lack of support for her

husband outside of prison.

Neighbours of Mr Rutter at the mobile home park where he died said he lived on his own.

Mr Rutter had spent more time in prison since serving time for murder and was finally released from Ford Prison, just two miles from the scene of his death, in July last year.

Forensic experts spent yesterday searching through the remains of the mobile home but police are not treating the fire as suspicious.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.