Ann Ming, the mother of Julie Hogg, is actively campaigning against the parole of William Dunlop, the man convicted of her daughter's murder in 1989. Dunlop strangled Hogg, 22, in Billingham, County Durham, and concealed her mutilated body behind a bath panel, where it remained undiscovered for 80 days.
Hogg's family is speaking out ahead of Dunlop's upcoming parole hearing in October. "Dunlop should stay behind bars until the day he dies," Ming told The Times. "As long as I'm breathing, I'll try to keep him in prison for public safety. I'll keep fighting as long as I'm still here."
Ming spearheaded a 15-year campaign to reform the centuries-old double jeopardy law, which historically prevented individuals from being tried for the same crime twice after an acquittal. Dunlop was initially tried twice in 1999, but both juries failed to reach a verdict. In 2002, while serving time for another offense, Dunlop confessed to Hogg's murder and bragged about his immunity from further prosecution due to double jeopardy.
In 2006, Dunlop became the first person to be tried under the reformed law. He pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years. He has since undergone multiple parole reviews. In April 2025, the then-justice secretary Shabana Mahmood blocked a recommendation to move him to an open jail. Ming expressed concern about the repeated parole hearings, stating, "I can't understand why he's even allowed to have all these parole hearings. I'm not sleeping very well at the moment because I'm worried about what's going to happen."
Dunlop's past statements to the parole board indicate a complex attitude towards his reform and the victim's family. At a previous hearing, he reportedly expressed regret for being a "violent, hideous, uncaring person" and claimed that Ming's campaign had "saved" him by preventing further violent crimes. However, Ming found these statements chilling, emphasizing that "public protection has got to be at the forefront of everything to do with him."
Kevin Hogg, Julie Hogg's son, now 40, also shared the lasting impact of his mother's murder. "I have memories of the day she was found - the smell and the screaming and the police turning up," he told The Times. "That is me for the rest of my life. We as a family live and breathe this. A life sentence isn't a life sentence for the offender. It's for the victims and the families because it's those who have to live with the consequences and the knock-on effect of that person's heinous crime."
The family's campaign and struggle for justice inspired the recent ITV drama "I Fought The Law," which starred Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming and won best new drama at the National Television Awards. Ming found her daughter's body 80 days after the murder. The house where the murder occurred in Billingham, County Durham, has been noted in media reports. Dunlop, 61, has been in prison since his 2006 conviction. He had previously sought release into the community but withdrew that application in 2024, suggesting he might be better suited for open prison conditions.