Pensioner who raped, stabbed and strangled 15-year-old woman nearly 50 years in the past is convicted

A pensioner who was cleared of murdering a teenage girl for virtually 50 % a century is at last dealing with a justice in the oldest double jeopardy scenario in England and Wales.

Dennis McGrory was 28 when he sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled 15-calendar year-old Jacqui Montgomery in her house in Islington, north London, in 1975.

The up coming calendar year, the gentleman from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was tried out on a circumstantial case and cleared of murder on the directions of a choose.

But justice has now caught up with McGrory immediately after swabs from Ms Montgomery’s system produced a 1-in-a-billion DNA match many years later.

Dennis McGrory (pictured) was 28 when he sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled 15-calendar year-aged Jacqui Montgomery in her dwelling in Islington, north London, in 1975

Following a 2003 change in the regulation on double jeopardy, the as soon as chilly situation was referred to the Court docket of Attractiveness and sent for a fresh demo at the Outdated Bailey.

Whilst the demo was halted in March soon after the 75-year-aged fell sick, he was then observed responsible of rape and murder at a Huntingdon Crown Court retrial.

The jury at Huntingdon Crown Court docket deliberated on Monday for just more than an hour to locate McGrory responsible on the two charges against him.

The defendant was remanded into custody to be sentenced on January 13.

Jurors ended up informed McGrory had been ‘wild with rage’ when he killed Jacqui as he tried out to observe down his ex-husband or wife Josie Montgomery – the victim’s aunt – who experienced been possessing an affair with his close friend John Malloy.

Prosecutor Sarah Przybylska experienced reported: ‘No doubt furious with rage and seeking to attack Josie, the defendant took out his anger on the following ideal detail, Jacqui Montgomery, both raping and murdering her.’

For the duration of the attack, he ripped out a web page of the teenager’s diary with her aunt’s tackle on it.

Jacqui’s overall body was observed by her father, Robert Montgomery, lying on the floor of their living room in Offord Highway in the early hrs of June 2, 1975.

She experienced endured deadly stab wounds as nicely as blunt power trauma to the deal with and been strangled with the flex of an iron.

Jurors have been instructed McGrory had been ‘wild with rage’ when he killed Jacqui (pictured) as he experimented with to track down his ex-partner Josie Montgomery – the victim’s aunt

McGrory had threatened to rape Jacqui in the previous and, on that night time, he ‘made good’ on those words, jurors were explained to.

Director of Community Prosecutions, Max Hill KC, hailed the guilty verdict, indicating: ‘This crime took location a complete decade ahead of the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) opened its doorways so it truly is definitely the oldest case that I’ve encountered.

‘It is a person of the quite little handful of double jeopardy conditions that I have individually authorised to be taken to the Courtroom of Appeal.

‘We are extremely shut now to the 50th anniversary of this criminal offense so I’m specially pleased that we have been equipped to bring this subject via to conviction just after all these decades.

‘It is an particularly severe and rare phase to talk to the Court of Attractiveness, as I did, to established apart an acquittal for murder, irrespective of whether that acquittal took spot 5 yrs back or 50 many years ago.’

Mr Hill praised the ‘excellent’ get the job done of the police and CPS in bringing McGrory to justice.

He reported it was a specifically ‘vicious murder’ and DNA located on her human body helped show a ‘scientific link’ between McGrory and the physique of Jacqueline Montgomery.

Justice has now caught up with McGrory soon after swabs from Ms Montgomery’s system generated a a single-in-a-billion DNA match decades afterwards

Mr Hill said: ‘His DNA was located on her overall body in conditions wherever he denies to this working day that he was even at the scene or at the residence in which she was murdered.

‘So that formed a really critical new piece of evidence alongside the circumstantial proof, which bundled discovering on him at his arrest in 1975 a web page torn from Jacqueline’s diary.

‘When you set people two factors collectively, it became extremely hard for him to describe his possession of the diary web page and the DNA sample that he still left on this inadequate girl’s system in any way other than him remaining existing and remaining the killer himself.’

He additional that when the murder took area 5 a long time back, that does not make the scenario any much less crucial.

He ongoing: ‘Our feelings are with all all those who nonetheless mourn drastically and have suffered her loss – that is what drives investigators and prosecutors.

‘In this scenario, McGrory at past now faces the prospect of the close of his life being spent behind bars.

‘I’m guaranteed that this individual McGrory believed that he had gotten absent with murder. But given that the double jeopardy ideas have been enshrined in statute in 2003, I and my modern predecessors have experienced the means to try out to set matters ideal.

‘Although these situations are rightly extremely unusual, exactly where we see a significant miscarriage of justice, these as a wrongful acquittal for a murder, which was clearly fully commited, the information is: the system will catch you in the stop. And that is what we’ve finished in this circumstance.’

A handout issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 1975 of Dennis McGrory showing marks on his deal with and system

His conviction reverses an previously acquittal delivered by a choose 46 decades back.

Performing Detective Superintendent Rebecca Reeves, of the Met’s Expert Casework Staff, claimed: ‘This was an exceptionally brutal assault on a youthful lady and my views are with her relatives, with her siblings and the other members of her relatives who are nonetheless alive right now.

‘I hope that eventually, the outcome at courtroom has introduced them some component of comfort.

‘This has been an particularly complicated investigation long lasting a number of years. The outcome and conviction at courtroom in 2022, will come just after 7 decades of real investigative perform. The case officer has labored all over that and with wonderful commitment.

‘McGrory was acquitted at court docket in 1976 but it was many thanks to a forensic critique, which came about subsequent a request designed by Jacqui’s family. That forensic evaluation discovered DNA evidence and that was the new and compelling evidence that was introduced by law enforcement and by prosecutors to the Court of Enchantment, who agreed that he must stand trial all over again, which is what took place.

‘This is an strange situation. And the size of time that’s handed, made it very difficult. It was complicated from a forensic science issue of check out. And it was also really complicated for the witnesses in this scenario. Witnesses incorporated associates of Jacqui’s household, and they had to glance yet again at the statements which law enforcement experienced taken from them in 1975 revisit those events, which of training course, were being extremely traumatic for them.’

She added: ‘Members of her family gave proof in this trial and they had been particularly courageous in carrying out so for the reason that McGrory was a violent bully who terrified the women of all ages in his existence and that impact, that affect, was a little something that some of them however felt today.’

Claire Prodger, of the CPS London Murder team, explained: ‘Dennis McGrory has ultimately faced justice for his murderous steps all those years in the past. He selfishly and brutally finished Jacqueline Montgomery’s daily life and should have assumed he experienced escaped.

‘The additional evidence collected by the police, and made use of by the prosecution at demo, have made the jury now selected that he committed these crimes. He now faces the prospect of ending his existence at the rear of bars.’

Jacqui’s sister Kathy reported: ‘A violent man who had been residing within just our spouse and children (raped and) murdered my sister. He has been equipped to reside his everyday living. He has expended virtually 50 yrs as a free of charge guy doing as he delighted.

‘I locate that unbearable when my sister didn’t even get to her 16th birthday. His steps caused trauma to so a lot of individuals and there ended up no repercussions for him.

‘The investigation of the past handful of several years has intended revisiting recollections of the murder which has brought on suffering and pressure for me and my spouse and children and I am relieved that we eventually have justice for Jacqui.’