In the south Wales village of Taffs Well, where Mark Hampson grew up, there are mixed recollections of a young man who appeared to lose his way and fade out of the community's thoughts.

The fair-haired boy lived in a quiet, terraced street in the heart of the village, five miles north of Cardiff, with his parent and sisters.

Hampson: In prison when DNA tested

He attended Ffynnon Taf primary school and later went on to become an apprentice to the village butcher, Jack Bailey, but the teenager left before finishing his training.

"He was the blond-haired rebel of the village, but he was a nice enough kid," said one Cardiff Road resident.

"I would say he left the village in his late teens, but it was a long time before people missed him being here.

"He seemed to be shaping up quite well - he was not one of those who you would think would end up doing anything violent.

Geraldine Palk: Brutal killing

"There are plenty of others round here you might have thought would get into trouble."

A woman working in village said it was known locally that Mark Hampson had been in prison for injuring a man near his home.

And then several years after that even, came the news on the billboards of village newsagents, that Hampson had been arrested for the murder in 1990 of Geraldine Palk, one of the most horrific crimes in recent history in south Wales.

"People coming in here have not really been talking about the trial or got much to say about him," said the woman.

"Twelve years ago, people talked about how horrible the murder was then.

"But the only comments recently have been 'he is not a Taffs Well boy anymore, we do not want him'.

"Nobody has even mentioned about how it must be for his family seeing it on the news stands in the village."

Geraldine Palk's body was found in a shallow stream

One shop owner confirmed that the lengthy, detailed coverage of the trial had failed to sell extra copies of the local evening paper.

"A few people here told me he was a horrible person and not the sort you wanted to go for a drink with; he was that type of guy."

Those who remember him recall a pleasant individual but at some point when Hampson was in his late teens, he faded from view.

Those residents that asked after him were told he was "working away".

But after 35-year-old Hampson was arrested in connection with the murder of Geraldine Palk, the village was suddenly filled for a short time with rumours of drains near the family home being searched by police officers and talk of a knife being found.

The conviction of Mark Hampson for the 12-year-old murder will not change village life in Taffs Well, but it will in some way, leave its mark on the community.