First Murderer Jailed Under Double Jeopardy Law Says He Would Have Killed Again

William Dunlop, the first person convicted of murder following reforms to the double jeopardy law, has stated that he would have killed again had his victim's mother not spearheaded a campaign that led to changes in the law. Dunlop, 63, began his fourth bid for release to an open prison on Wednesday.

Dunlop strangled Julie Hogg in her Billingham home in 1989 and concealed her body behind a bath panel. Her mother, Ann Ming, discovered the remains more than two months later. Hogg, a 22-year-old pizza delivery woman and mother to a three-year-old son, was subjected to a violent sexual assault by Dunlop after rejecting him at a rugby party. Prosecutors described the attack as "premeditated and truly horrendous."

Dunlop was charged with Hogg's murder, but two juries failed to reach a verdict in 1991, leading to his acquittal under the then-existing double jeopardy law, which prevented a person from being tried twice for the same offense. In 1998, he was sentenced to seven years for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a new partner. While incarcerated, he confessed to a prison guard that he had killed Hogg and admitted to lying during his earlier trial, receiving a six-year sentence for that offense.

Ann Ming's 15-year campaign to reform the double jeopardy legislation culminated in Dunlop becoming the first person to be tried under the new rules in 2006, following his confession. He pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years.

Mrs. Ming's advocacy was the subject of a four-part ITV drama titled "I Fought the Law" last year, starring Sheridan Smith.

During his parole hearing, Dunlop admitted he would have committed further acts of violence if he had not been stopped. "I think I said this at the last parole that I thanked Mrs Ming for doing it because I’ve not hurt anybody else – by me being in prison all this time I’ve not hurt anybody," he told the panel. When asked if he believed he would have committed another murder or serious violence, he responded, "I would say yes because that’s what my life was." He added that he would not have confessed if the double jeopardy law had remained unchanged, stating, "I would have tried to carry on suppressing it."

Appearing via videolink from an unnamed prison, Dunlop expressed that he could now understand the feelings of Miss Hogg's family, having recently lost his own son. Regarding his risk to the public, he stated, "No, I’m more frightened of them than they should be of me – I’m more concerned about people finding out where I am and causing me harm… I don’t want to cause anybody any harm." A prison psychologist and an independent psychologist have assessed Dunlop as posing a low risk of violence, which increases to moderate in the community.

Miss Hogg's son, Kevin, told the hearing that "time isn’t the great healer it’s purported to be" and that the pain of his mother's loss remains acute. The parole hearing is ongoing.