A convicted murderer was cleared of assaulting a woman in Abingdon.

Kevin Alvarado, 39, who in 2002 was given a life sentence for knifing a man to death in Reading, was accused of causing the woman actual bodily harm during an alleged assault at a flat in Ock Street on January 3 this year.

Lawyers for the Abingdon man asked the judge to throw out the case. Judge Nigel Daly, who was hearing the case at Aylesbury Crown Court, agreed there was insufficient evidence for a properly directed jury to safely convict.

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Alvarado, of Ock Street, Abingdon, was formally acquitted of the charge.

However, he remains in custody having been recalled to prison on licence when he was arrested for assault.

The Parole Board confirmed that his case was awaiting review. No date had yet been set for that review, which sees a member of a Parole Board panel reading through the case papers.

In 2002, then 19-year-old Alvarado was given a life sentence for stabbing Scott Davis in Reading town centre the previous July.

The murder conviction was reportedly the first where the killing was captured on CCTV. The footage showed the teenager stabbing his victim nine times.

Kingston Crown Court was told that Alvarado had borne Mr Davis ‘no malice’ and wished he could ‘turn back the clock’.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward