THE man who murdered Glasgow businesswoman Moira Jones will be allowed to serve the remainder of his 25-year prison term in his native homeland.

Marek Harcar was returned to Slovakia after an agreement was reached between the authorities.

However, it is believed that Moira's family had not been formally told of the transfer, which took place in November 2016.

The 42-year-old had his repatriation request approved after he was released from the State Hospital at Carstairs.

According to the Sunday Mail, a source close to the family said: “Moira’s parents weren’t told officially about Harcar’s move but they are aware that he is now in Slovakia. The family found out about it themselves.”

Meanwhile, the Jones family are preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of Moira’s death.

Her mum Bea confirmed they were aware Harcar had been moved back to his homeland, but did not want to comment further on it.

She said: “Moira is continually in our thoughts. We will never forget her and we will mark the 10th anniversary of her death in a private way with family and friends.”

Harcar was jailed for life in 2009 for the rape and murder of Moira on May 28, 2008. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years.

The killer spent months appealing his conviction before abandoning that bid and plotting a move home instead.

He was transferred from HMP Edinburgh to Carstairs, Lanarkshire, in 2015, after doctors deemed him untreatable.

Harcar was then held with other sex offenders at HMP Glenochil, Clackmannanshire, before being flown to Slovakia in November 2016.

He was initially held at the infamous Leopoldov prison, a 17th-century fortress converted into a high-security jail where political prisoners were held during the communist era.

Prison bosses moved him to a small facility in the town of Banska Bystrica last year.

The jail has a capacity for 400 prisoners and currently holds 343.

Following Harcar’s repatriation, a court in Slovakia endorsed the decision and sentence of the High Court in Scotland.

A Slovak police spokesman said Harcar had initially been accepted back into the country in November 2016 and is being held under maximum security conditions.

A source told the Sunday Mail: “There is no home release for him. But his family can make non-contact visits, he can shop in the prison, use the telephone and go out inside the prison area.

“Slovakia accepted the Scottish judgment. A court discounted the years he spent in Scottish prisons, so he must serve another 15 years at least.”

The move was made under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “We have a variety of exchange agreements in place with other jurisdictions.”

By the time Harcar came to Britain in 2007 – 15 months before he killed Moira – he had amassed 13 convictions.

He received a seven-month prison sentence in Slovakia for violent offences and had four other convictions in Slovakia and the Czech Republic involving violence.

Harcar arrived in Glasgow just 10 days before killing Moira.

He abducted the 40-year-old, near her flat in Queen’s Park, Glasgow, before raping, beating and stamping on her.

Her body was found the following day with a total of 65 injuries.

A few days later, on June 1, Harcar boarded a flight to the Czech Republic and took a bus over the border to Slovakia.

Police traced him via DNA samples from his Glasgow flat and arrested him at his grandmother’s home in the village of Nalepkovo.

The brutality of the crime shocked Scotland and there was further anger when it emerged Harcar had been allowed to enter the UK despite his string of convictions for violence.