Release

Helen McCourt  was a 22-year-old British insurance clerk who disappeared on 9 February 1988 in the village of Billinge near St Helens, Merseyside, shortly after getting off a bus less than five hundred yards from her home.Her body has never been found. Ian Simms, a local pub landlord was charged with and convicted of her murder. The case is a rare example where a murder conviction has been obtained without the presence of a body, and was one of the first in the UK to use DNA fingerprinting. In 2015, Helen McCourt's mother, Marie, began a campaign to change the law regarding the conviction of killers such as Simms, requiring them to reveal the whereabouts of their victim's remains before being considered for parole. The campaign led to the announcement of plans to introduce a "Helen's Law" in May 2019. On 5 July 2019, David Gauke, the Secretary of State for Justice confirmed the law would be adopted in England and Wales. A Parole Board hearing on 8 November recommended Simms for release, the decision coming before the legislation could be introduced. The McCourt family launched a bid to keep Simms in jail but it was rejected by the High Court in February 2020, and Simms was subsequently released on license. Helen's Law is now embedded in statute and will bring at least some consolation to other families cruelly denied closure following the murder of a loved one  whose body has yet to be discovered. 

Monster
He killed my Helen, far worse a crime his refusal to reveal her final resting place.
The monster is free to torture me. Release for him. But none for me. Thanks for reading. Adele Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

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