A MURDERER, who tied up his girlfriend and drowned her in the bath in their Huddersfield home, is on the run.

A nationwide manhunt has been launched for fugitive David Mitchell, of Almondbury.

Mitchell, 44, absconded from Kirkham Prison, near Preston, on July 31, after leaving the open jail for a work placement.

In 1991 Mitchell was jailed for life for binding the arms and legs of his partner Kathleen McKenzie before drowning her at their home on Westgate, Almondbury, a year earlier.

Ms McKenzie, 28, had left Mitchell for a women’s refuge in 1990 but returned some months later to live with him.

Mitchell, who fled to Scarborough following the murder, told police he had killed Ms McKenzie in a rage after she told him she had started a relationship with another man.

Before he fled Mitchell, who too was having an affair at the time, is alleged to have told his lover he could kill Ms McKenzie and ‘shove her down the cellar’.

Ms McKenzie’s body was later found in the cellar of their home.

Mitchell was last seen in Blackburn at around 11.30am on the day he absconded from prison.

While his current whereabouts is unknown it is thought Mitchell may be back in Huddersfield as he has links here.