THE mother of murder victim Dawn Walker has voiced her shock after being sent a lawyer's letter which sought to gag her from making comments about her daughter's killer.

Laurence Cawley

THE mother of murder victim Dawn Walker has voiced her shock after being sent a lawyer's letter which sought to gag her from making comments about her daughter's killer.

Jean Walker, whose 37-year-old daughter Dawn was found dead next to the River Lark near Bury St Edmunds in February 2005, is considering lodging a complaint against the legal firm which sent the letter.

It was sent to Mrs Walker by Kester Cunningham John after an article appeared in the EADT in which Mrs Walker referred to her daughter's killer as having controlled both her daughter and his family.

Kevin Nunn, from Woolpit, was jailed for 22 years for the murder of his former girlfriend Miss Walker, from Fornham St Martin. It was claimed he killed her in a fit of jealousy after she told him their relationship was over.

Kester Cunningham John said its clients (Nunn's family) had a “legitimate interest” in Mrs Walker's comments about Nunn and were “entitled” to raise their concerns to her.

The letter, which calls on Mrs Walker not to repeat her comments, has left Mrs Walker outraged and she is now considering taking the matter to the Legal Complaints Service, which is contracted to handle complaints on behalf of the Law Society.

“Who do they think they are talking to?” asked Mrs Walker, who lives in Bury St Edmunds. “I feel we have no rights at all. I feel like we are here on our own. We have lost Dawn and we are the ones who are a little bit more than upset.”

A spokeswoman for Kester Cunningham John said: “We are instructed on behalf of the family of Kevin Nunn.

“They have a legitimate interest in the allegations set out in the article published in (the EADT) on October 13, 2008. They are entitled to draw their concerns in this connection to Mrs Walker, to whom the allegations are attributed in the article, in the interest of minimising the inevitable and acute distress of all concerned. Our letter of November 12, 2008 to Mrs Walker made their position clear in this and other respects. We have no further comment to make.”

Brigitte Butcher, Nunn's sister, who marked the second anniversary of his incarceration by visiting him in jail with his other sister Donna Mickleburgh, said: “The comments she made were incorrect, she said he had controlled Dawn Walker and was controlling us too. None of that is correct and there was no intimation of that throughout the trial.

“He is certainly not controlling his family. I was concerned about her comments that are incorrect, such as that Kevin is a control freak. Kevin has never controlled anyone in his life - least of all his family. She can say anything she likes about Dawn, but not about Kevin or his family.”

“She has a daughter she's lost and we are very sorry but she shouldn't make these incorrect comments. I just used my local solicitor to tell her exactly that. She can have her opinions but she can't air them in the public domain. I know she's upset and I do sympathise. Kevin has human rights and his mother and father are very upset.”