A convicted murderer and rapist who signed up to several dating apps using fake names the last time he was paroled is set to walk free from prison in just hours.
Jamie John Curtis, 69, was sentenced to life with a non-parole period of 30 years after he tortured and raped Tameka Ridgeway, then 17, in Tasmania, in 1986.
Curtis then tortured Ms Ridgeway’s 22-year-old finance Dean Allie for 12 hours before stabbing him to death.
He was also sentenced to 25 years in jail for a range of other offences including abduction, aggravated burglary and three counts of indecent assault.
The Parole Board of Tasmania said in their decision to grant Curtis parole on Wednesday that ‘all aspects of the matter’ had been reviewed, the ABC reports.
The board states they are aware of the ‘circumstances of the applicant’ and the ‘importance of considering the need to provide protection for the public and victims of the applicants offending’.
Curtis had his first bid for parole approved in June 2018 but was back behind bars four months later after he breached his bail conditions by setting up fake accounts on multiple dating websites.
Curtis had served 32 years behind bars in Risdon Prison near Hobart and found a job at a butcher’s shop before he was taken back into custody.
Convicted rapist and murderer Jamie John Curtis, 69, (pictured) will be granted parole on Wednesday after serving over 30 years behind bars
He was granted parole again three years later, but his second shot at freedom was knocked back after he allegedly used illicit drugs to manage pain.
Curtis also failed to tell his parole officer he was in a new relationship at the time.
The 2021 parole application report made several considerations before the board approved his release that year while he was working as a wardsman.
The report referenced case notes that indicated Curtis was ‘polite’ and ‘respectful’ and the findings also stated he engaged ‘appropriately with correctional staff’.
The board had also deemed Curtis as ‘minimum security’ inmate since 2022.
But Ms Ridgeway slammed the parole board’s decision and said her attacker should not be allowed back into the community.
‘Curtis is and will always remain an extremely dangerous felon to whom the community warrant protection,’ she told The Mercury.
‘The decision made by the Parole Board to grant this individual’s release from prison was indeed a very foolish one.’
![Jamie John Curtis, 69, (pictured) was sentenced to life behind bars with a non-parole period of 30 years after he tortured and raped Tameka Ridgeway and murdered her fiancé in 1986](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/14/05/94063909-14281259-image-m-70_1736832639265.jpg)
Jamie John Curtis, 69, (pictured) was sentenced to life behind bars with a non-parole period of 30 years after he tortured and raped Tameka Ridgeway and murdered her fiancé in 1986
Curtis sparked a week-long manhunt across Tasmania after he escaped prison in a laundry van just eight months into his sentence.
During the Supreme Court sentencing of Curtis in 1986, Chief Justice William Cox described his offending as ‘unprovoked’, ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘callous’.
Chief Justice Cox also described the conduct of Curtis at the time as a ‘sustained course of brutal abduction, assault, sexual abuse and ultimately murder in the vain hope of escaping detection’
Curtis will have to wear an electronic monitoring device and will not be allowed to contact or associate with certain people including the victims of his offences.
He will also not be permitted to enter certain locations and will not be allowed to have anyone stay at his place of residence overnight.