Father of 22's thug son is a murderer who spent 17 years in jail for kicking his ex-babysitter to death in 'merciless and prolonged attack' Raymond Hull's fourth-eldest son Adrian has just been released from jail He spent 17 years inside for 'merciless and prolonged' attack on junkie Witness told his trial Hull said he killed the man for 'grassing' on a relative Savage: Adrian Hull, who has recently been released after 17 years in jail for a murder, pictured aged 17, at the time of the 'merciless and prolonged' attack A son of the father of 22 this week spared jail for drug dealing is a killer who murdered his former babysitter in a 'merciless and prolonged' attack, it has emerged. Raymond Hull's son Adrian was just 17 when he battered 29-year-old heroin addict Nicky Morrison to death in Heysham Park, Carlisle, before throwing his body over a bridge. A witness to the killing described how the thug kicked his helpless victim in the head at least 14 times, striking him so hard that his skull bounced off a concrete path. Hull was ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure, with a minimum term of 15 years, for the murder. It is understood that he was released just before Christmas, having served 17 years, and he has already been seen proudly posing for pictures with his freshly notorious father. Raymond Hull burst onto the headlines this week when it emerged that he had been spared jail for dealing cannabis to look after his 22nd child, Barry, who is just seven months old. The 58-year-old, who has children by 11 women, is a career criminal with 31 convictions - whose neighbours say lives a lavish lifestyle of foreign holidays, impressive cars and raucous late-night parties in a caravan. Adrian Hull, now 34, already had previous convictions for causing criminal damage, threatening behaviour and arson when he was found guilty of murder. His original trial heard that in 1996 the violent thug beat up Mr Morrison, who used to look after him as a youngster, in a park near his home, before inviting a girl to watch him carry out the murder. Witness Donna Jackson told Carlisle Crown Court he she saw the helpless Mr Morrison lying on the ground gurgling blood. Hull told are to act as lookout while he repeatedly kicked him in the head and stamped on his face. She said the killer had told her that he carried out the attack because Mr Morrison had given information to the police about drug deals carried out by the Hull family. But after Hull was found guilty of murder in 1997, the policeman in charge of the murder inquiry said his investigations had never unearthed the real motive for the killing. 'He wanted to be a bit of a focal point for attention,' said DCI Peter Kirkbride. The first thing he did after he attacked Nicky Morrison was to go and tell a girl and then he attacked him in front of her. The policeman added: 'I think he was trying to create some sort of status for himself.' Spnger: Raymond Hull, 58, burst onto the headlines this week when it emerged that he had been spared jail for dealing cannabis to look after his 22nd child, Barry, who is just seven months old The dark story of Raymond Hull's fourth-eldest son makes a mockery of the sponger's claim that he is 'a great dad'. In a 2010 appeal by Adrian Hull, Mr Justice Tomlinson, quoted by Carlisle local paper the News & Star, said that the original trial had shown he was raised in 'an unstable and dysfunctional environment'. He added that, in passing sentence, the judge at the original trial had been of 'the view that there was a clear likelihood of serious re-offending' if Hull was released early. 'The trial judge referred specifically to the notoriety of Mr Hull's family in the estate on which he grew up, together with their involvement in crime and drug dealing,' added the senior judge. Raymond Hull's claim to have 22 children came in court as he was convicted of dealing cannabis.