THE daughter of a murdered Gwent woman has spoken of her anger at the release from prison of the man who murdered her mother.

Michael Bowen - found guilty in June 1998 of the murder of his wife Sandie Bowen - has never revealed the whereabouts of her body, though he did later admit responsibility for her death.

He was freed on February 2, and Mrs Bowen's daughter Anita Giles was told of his release by her Victim Support officer after it had happened.

The Parole Board has confirmed that it directed his release last November, the date of that release being a matter for the Secretary of State for Justice.

But for Miss Giles, the pain of losing her mother in such horrific and mysterious circumstances goes on, and has been heightened by the release of the one person who could tell her the two things she still needs to know - what happened to her mother, and where is her body.

And she is angry that Bowen has been released without giving up that information and without serving the minimum 18 years handed down by the judge after his trial.

Two-and-a-half years ago, in a powerful victim impact statement, Miss Giles told a Parole Board hearing considering an earlier release for Bowen, of the effect her mother's murder had on her.

Now she has told the Argus that she believes it cannot be right that while he has been released, albeit on life licence with a range of conditions, she must continue to live without he knowledge of what happened.

"I knew that it (his release) was going to happen one day, but I assumed he still had another two years to serve," said Miss Giles, who lives in Kent, where her mother was originally from.

"When he was sentenced, the judge said he would serve a minimum 18 years and even if he gave up the whereabouts of my mum's body that did not mean he would get an early release.

"But his status was downgraded as a result of that Parole Board hearing in 2012 and he was in an open prison. That was the last I heard prior to his release.

"I thought that I would have had a warning that it was going to happen, not be told that it had happened.

"He might be able to shut the door on this and move on, but I can't.

"There is no closure for me. I've never had that, and never had an explanation as to why he did it.

"I still have to live with everything unresolved, but now he has got a life of liberty, even at his age, and he will have all the support on the outside."

Sandie Bowen went missing from her home in Llandogo, Monmouthshire, in August 1997, on the day her husband discovered she was having an affair. He was also having an affair at the time.

He told police he had last seen her at Newport railway station, having dropped her off for her to catch a train to Folkestone, to see her daughter. She never arrived.

He denied any involvement in her disappearance, but her blood and false teeth were discovered at the couple's house. Bowen was charged and convicted of murder despite the body not being found.

Though in 2002 he admitted responsibility for her death - he told police he and Mrs Bowen had gone to his fishing boat where during a fight he hit her and she fell overboard - he has continually refused to reveal the whereabouts of her body.

"He asked for mediation at one point," said Miss Giles.

"I did not go to see him but the mediators came to see me and saw him, and came back and told me they were of the mind that he would never give me what I wanted.

"I want to know two things - what happened and where is she?

"I would not have degraded myself by going to see him. He came up with a cock and bull story that she fell overboard, which did not happen."

Miss Giles, who lives in Folkestone, said she has been told that a condition of Bowen's life licence is that he should never enter the town, though she does not fear that.

"I just want to know what happened to my mum and where her body is, and it is not right that he should be out. In my mind he has served nowhere near long enough," she said.