![](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/1jaOQKI81_5RogrXOM7zT8VUOFM=/750x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fcf-images.ap-southeast-2.prod.boltdns.net%2Fv1%2Fstatic%2F664969388001%2F3310f9a8-cd38-4321-a569-4c688e7e5d3b%2Fabd8f9b0-15de-48f0-8648-d9f16f776b23%2F640x360%2Fmatch%2Fimage.jpg)
The man who killed four year old girl Lauren Hickson in Sydney's West almost three decades ago, could be granted parole in less than a month.
The State Parole Authority today announced it would make a decision on Neville Raymond Towner's future on June 29.
Outside court Lauren's mother Jurina Hickson urged the SPA to delay his release to protect the community.
![Jurina Hickson, the mother of Lauren Hickson, leaves the Parramatta West Trial Courts with her husband Derek following a parole hearing for her daughter's murderer. Picture: AAP](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/PjCbv12ChTeh3NZr52IiHzMQGkU=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2F14%2F59%2F050618_newhickson_AAP.jpg)
At times fighting back tears Mrs Hickson described Towner as a "ticking time bomb" and said a "leopard never changes its spots."
Victim's advocate Howard Brown also recommended the Authority wait, but he expects they will side with the Serious Offenders Review Council and sign off on Towner's release.
Lauren Hickson disappeared from outside her parents motorhome at the Nepean River Caravan Park in Emu Plains in 1989.
![Ms Hickson described Towner as a "ticking time bomb".](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/GUB2ovVuAxQSeStk6fCfogUpT4E=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2F0506_nevilletowner_a.jpg)
![Neville Raymond Towner could be free by as early as next month.](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/bYhqAQOZ7YaH0xed39el3L5eJ_g=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2FNetwork%2FHome%2FStreams%2F2017%2F08%2F11%2F14%2F46%2FNeville-Towner-NH.jpg)
Her almost naked body was found the next morning floating in a creek which joined the Nepean River.
Towner later admitted to murdering the little girl who he had previously babysat.
"She started screaming and to shut her up I shoved her head in the water and... when she came up she looked to me as if she had already gone. She started breathing, so I grabbed a rock and hit her with it," he told police.
The then 23-year-old was sentenced to life behind bars but successfully applied for a redetermination which made him eligible for parole in 2009.
![Lauren Hickson was just four years old when she was murdered.](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/UfwhsgJdsXPl9USf6doVrx-6rPc=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2FNetwork%2FHome%2FStreams%2F2018%2F01%2F16%2F11%2F31%2F150118_laurenhickson_env.jpg)
He has been denied release on several occasions since then.
But the Serious Offenders Review Council has suggested he should be let out.
Today the lawyer for the State raised concerns about the "night terrors" he was suffering.
"That is still not an insignificant matter which remains… still somewhat unexplained" Brett Thomson said.
However he conceded there had been no concerns about his behaviour while on day release.
If he is granted parole Towner will then live at a halfway house on the grounds of Long Bay Correctional Centre under strict supervision for an undetermined period.